EMSCAN’s unique electromagnetic testing products offer unparalleled benefits to customers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA: Based on its recent analysis of the radio frequency (RF) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measurement technologies market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes EMSCAN with the 2010 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement of the Year.

EMSCAN’s innovative electromagnetic (EM) measurement technologies offer faster alternatives to existing solutions for pre-compliance antenna measurement and EM testing, more specifically for small size antennas that operate in the 300 megahertz (MHz) to 6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency range and printed circuit boards (PCBs) that radiate in the 50 kilohertz (kHz) to 4 GHz range. Both its products, the EMxpert and the RFxpert, use high-speed automatically switched high-density planar antenna array patented by EMSCAN.

Due to the technological and economic benefits of these products, as well as improved marketing efforts, the customer base for both products has expanded quickly. EMSCAN witnessed a revenue growth in the range of 50 percent in 2010, and aims at achieving 100 percent for 2011.

“EMSCAN’s products enable users to make tests in real-time, which can translate into a reduction of test time, or customers can choose to use that time to design better products, spending more time on prototyping and optimization since iterations just take seconds,” said Frost & Sullivan industry director, Jessy Cavazos. “Customers can optimize their products as they can see in real-time what is wrong with their designs.”

While the EMxpert, which is focused on EMC issues at the PCB level, enables PCB Engineers to have controls at their desktop to see what is wrong with their board, the RFxpert helps Antenna Designers and Wireless Product Developers optimize their wireless performance and antenna performance. The RFxpert is ideal for mobile phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and radio frequency identification (RFID) applications among other uses such as in the military and smart grid industry. Key target markets for the EMxpert are the mobile phone, automotive, space, aviation and defense, medical, and consumer electronics industries for which mitigating the emission source is vital.

With both products, EMSCAN helps accelerate customers’ time-to-market by reducing test time to a matter of seconds as opposed to minutes or hours in a chamber. This benefit is even more significant for EMC testing than antenna testing due to issues such as very weak signals and unwanted radiating behavior. In the case of EM testing, though solutions other than chambers exist–automated and handheld probes–these operate very slowly, and can’t detect time based activities and current loops despite offering better resolution.

“Besides reducing development costs by reducing test time, EMSCAN’s products offer customers a much more cost-effective alternative to available solutions,” said Cavazos. “For instance, anechoic chambers used for antenna measurement can cost anywhere from $200,000 to millions of dollars and their set up and operation is expensive.”

In comparison, the RFxpert costs between $25,000 and $40,000, with an average price of around $30,000. This represents one-fifth to one-tenth of the price of the least expensive chamber. The EMxpert is also a cost-effective solution that ranges from $16,000 to 290,000 in price. Both solutions are compact and fit on a desktop. Moreover, EMSCAN’s products are very easy-to-use and users can be trained on using these products in a day.

Based on the company’s superior customer initiatives and active best practices in the RF and EMC measurement sector, EMSCAN is the recipient of the 2010 Frost & Sullivan Global Customer Value Enhancement of the Year Award.