Analysis of Immunity Failures and Optimization Measures in Automotive Sensors

Automotive sensors need to fulfill severe electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements. The space available for EMC solutions based on discrete filter elements is limited. Furthermore, direct voltage or current measurements for analysis purposes are difficult. Innovative simulation methods are therefore needed to further understand and develop non-conventional EMC solutions. In this paper an analysis method to extract the dominant coupling path within sensors and to generate minimized electrical equivalent circuits (EEC) using network based sensitivity analysis is presented. In addition, a computational method that indicates the hotspots causing the EMC immunity failures with high resolution is introduced. Consequently, potential geometric and layout optimizations are derived easily. Failures due to small asymmetries are finally analyzed and optimized using an automotive pressure sensor.