Chambers & EMC » Castle Microwave

Chambers & EMC

Castle Microwave has extensive experience in aiding the design, manufacture and installation of Chambers and associated test equipment. Through our partners we are able to offer a range of specialised test and measurement solutions, from portable bench top enclosures to fully anechoic vehicle chambers.

Electronic equipment including computers, mobile phones, appliances, radios, etc., need to be tested and approved for electromagnetic compatibility, the enclosures Castle supply enable the required RF measurements to be performed in a screened environment.

Examples of the types of chamber Castle Microwave can deliver:

  • Shielded rooms – provide an ‘RF quiet’ environment to enable application testing including EMC, radio communications, etc. Rooms can support radiated emission measurements form 30 MHz to 18 GHz and radiated immunity 30 MHz to 6 GHz.
  • 3m/5m/10m chambers (including fully anechoic) – we can supply fully compliant Emission and Immunity testing chambers with 3, 5 and 10m test distances. Ferrite and hybrid pyramidal absorbers are combined in a unique pattern within a high performance chamber compliant to CISPR-16.
  • Mode Stir Chamber/Reverberation Chamber - suited for immunity testing for EMC measurement for very high-field strength applications (200V/m - 7000V/m). The paddle system ensures that the widest range of frequencies and particularly low frequency performance is maximized and meets requirements of the IEC61000-4-21 EMC testing specification
  • CSIPR25 Chamber - designed with an anechoic treatment that meets the specified attenuation in CSIPR25, this chamber provides the ability to perform benchtop testing of automotive components and wiring harnesses for the requisite 1 m test distance and for a “typical bench” configuration of 2.5 m x 1.0 m.  The unique design requires less volumetric space than traditional absorbers and still provides the volume required to have the requisite distances between the EUT and chamber surfaces. The polypropylene absorber does not undergo the typical age-related deterioration of the typical “foam” polyurethane absorbers.
  • MIL STD Chamber - a high performance RF-shielded chamber specifically designed for radiated emissions testing in accordance with MIL-STD-461E/F and can be used for emissions and immunity measurements.
  • Mini Compact Chamber – a compact size chamber lined with AEPH HyPyr-LossTM absorber technology that requires less volumetric space than in a traditional chamber. This mini compact chamber can be used for pre-compliant EMC and general Research & Development RF testing.

 

Custom small enclosures for pre-compliance testing are available for lab/production use from 1m3.

In addition to chambers, Castle Microwave can also supply antenna measurement systems including:

  • Near Field or Far Field Antenna Measurement Chamber - provide the necessary RF quiet environment in which to conduct many different testing applications such as for automobile and telecom wireless technology, Aerospace & Defence radome and Radar Cross Section, etc. We can configure the size to meet customer requirements, and as these chambers are also modular they can be easily dismantled for relocation.
  • Shielded Test Cell - With an operating frequency starting at 10kHz, Shielded Test Cells (STC) create an ideal environment for testing wireless devices at GSM, UMTS, CDMA, Bluetooth, DECT, etc. These small form factor cells were developed for the R&D, production and quality control environments where space is critical
  • Compact Antenna Test Range – with an operating frequency range of 700.00 MHz – 110000.00 MHz a compact range enables electrically large antennas to be measured at a significantly shorter distance than would be necessary in a traditional far-field test range.

 

The lowest operational frequency is determined by the size of the reflector, its edge treatment and the absorbers. The two edge treatments available are serrated edge for general purpose applications, and rolled edge to achieve higher accuracy for special applications. Multiple-feed systems may be used to improve the far-field characteristics. A compact range test system also allows system level testing of a complete device architecture.

Other EMC products available include:

  • Shielded audio and camera systems
  • Wide range of absorber materials including flat sheet, pyramidal, ferrite, etc.
  • Horn, log periodic, biconical antennas
  • Antenna pedestals and positioners
  • RF test equipment, power amplifiers, spectrum analysers, power meters, etc.
  • RF safety equipment
  • Test accessories including coaxial adapters, terminations, attenuators, calibration kits
  • Cable assemblies including low loss/phase stable, high RF power, ruggedized cables, CSIPR25 compliant
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