CD Laboratory for EMC aware robust electronic systems

This CD Laboratory aims to predict and optimise the robustness of electronic systems using model-based approaches.

Electronic systems are present in our everyday lives in a wide range of applications, and we expect them to be highly reliable and in a trouble-free position. This applies in particular to safety-critical areas, such as Medicine or automotive technology.

As the number of electronic devices increases, so do electromagnetic emissions. In addition, due to the miniaturisation of electronics, the devices themselves are becoming more sensitive to this interference. A targeted design of interference suppression measures requires a precise understanding of the interactions between these devices, taking into account the multitude of possible uses and locations of the various electronic components.

To help overcome this challenge, this Christian Doppler Laboratory is dedicated to four research topics:

-The creation of novel models for the declaration of interference mechanisms that arise due to increasing miniaturisation and the variety of different couplings (multi-stress),

The training of so-called surrogate models (approximate, extremely fast evaluable models based on physical models) using machine learning methods in order to describe multi-parametric models and optimise their electromagnetic robustness,

-The training of such surrogate models on the basis of robotically determined measurement series if physical models are not expedient,

-Concluding the use of surrogate models to improve the predictive accuracy of models through model calibration (Bayesian inference)

The aim of working on these topics is to develop fundamentally new methods for describing and optimising electromagnetic compatibility, which should enable the electronics industry to design safe and robust systems in a particularly customised way.

The CD Laboratory team expects a wide range of advances: The planned modelling methods suggest that millions of model predictions per day can be created and evaluated even on simple computers, which exceeds current methods by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the uncertainty of model predictions is to be reduced, which means that it is estimated that more than three times as many model parameters can be handled, thereby increasing the complexity of the systems analysed. This would make it possible to describe scenarios that cannot be described today - due to too many input parameters - and to derive their basic performance limits and trade-offs.

The work of the CD Laboratory thus makes an important contribution to the technical progress of industrial society by enabling the optimisation of electromagnetic emission and immunity in the early design stages of prototypes, supporting developers in identifying and dealing with possible electromagnetic compatibility problems and making it possible to predict the functional safety of electronics even under the influence of a wide variety of interference scenarios!

The laboratory is orientated towards the sustainability goals of TU Graz, which envisage climate neutrality by 2030. To this end, the laboratory's greenhouse gas emissions are being analysed in collaboration with the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Unit at TU Graz and strategies are then being developed to help the laboratory achieve its sustainability goals. Certification as a "Green Lab" is being sought. The process developed to achieve the targets can serve as a blueprint for other laboratories in the fields of Mathematics, Informatics, Electronics and Computer Science that are striving for sustainability.