One of the best methods to lower the additional costs associated with EMC compliance is to perform EMC testing throughout the design process well before sending the product off for full compliance testing. This pre-compliance testing can be cost effective and can be tailored to closely match the conditions used for compliance testing. Pre-compliance Testing can range from basic signal visualization with a spectrum analyzer to validation testing against limits or standards and even to interactive debugging. These types
of pre-compliance testing require different probes, setups, and tools. Basic visualization, comparison versus standard limits or previous results, and debugging all play important roles in EMI testing to improve designs, lowers test costs, and speed time to market. In this application note, the advantages, requirements, and available solutions for each type of pre-compliance analysis have been compared.

EMC Compliance testing is mandatory for the majority of electronic products that are slated for sale throughout the world. Select instruments, design the test setup to get the most out of EMI budget for any Pre-Compliance use case. With the right spectrum analyzer, emissions with near field and RF probes are visualized. Validation of EMI pre-compliance measurements against known emissions data must be done. Finally debugging and time correlation of signals must be performed to improve the design. These pre-compliance test setups will help speed product development and save time and money in design processes.