Webinars
Take part in EMA’s Solving Electromagnetic Challenges webinar series, where you will learn how to overcome the most pressing issues in the industry. Whether it's adapting to new standards, adopting new technologies and methodologies, or optimizing your designs and workflows, Solving Electromagnetic Challenges will give you the edge you need to succeed.
Our next webinar is Wednesday, July 22, 2026
New Physics-Based Space Environment Simulation and SEY Measurement for Accurate Charging Risk Assessment
Electro Magnetic Applications, Inc. (EMA) continues to distinguish itself through ongoing advancements in Ansys Charge Plus and the Space Environment and Radiation Effects (SERE) Lab, delivering a uniquely integrated set of capabilities that are not available through any other provider.
The SERE Lab provides a controlled test environment that recreates realistic space conditions enabling direct measurement of spacecraft charging, electrostatic discharge (ESD), radiation effects, and material behavior under mission-relevant scenarios. At the same time, Charge Plus delivers a physics-based, 3D simulation capability for modeling surface and internal charging, particle transport, and arcing across complex systems. By tightly coupling these capabilities, EMA creates a closed-loop workflow where measured data from the SERE Lab informs and validates simulation models, and simulations guide targeted testing. This combined approach moves beyond standalone software or isolated testing, providing customers with higher-fidelity predictions, reduced risk, and engineering confidence grounded in both physics and proof.
In this upcoming live session, we will introduce new advancements in space environment simulation and secondary electron yield measurement.
Advancement #1: Space Environment Simulations in Ansys Charge Plus
Through partnerships with NVIDIA and Synopsys, EMA has GPU‑accelerated Charge Plus and integrated it with electronic design automation (EDA) tools, enabling mission‑to‑silicon workflows for radiation hardening and EMC in space and defense.
This integration with Synopsys tools like TCAD Sentaurus Design, allows end‑to‑end modeling from spacecraft and electronics down to silicon, capturing total ionizing dose (TID), linear energy transfer (LET), and device‑level response to high‑energy Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs), while accelerating design iteration and decision‑making.
In part one, see how to model radiation effects from orbit to silicon in a single workflow. We will demonstrate the mission‑to‑silicon workflow through an end‑to‑end analysis of GEO electrons interacting with the satellite, electronics, and PCB, culminating in silicon‑level ionizing dose and device response.
Advancement #2: New Secondary Electron Yield Measurement Capability
Secondary electron yield (SEY) is a key material property in spacecraft charging, determining how energetic electron impacts influence whether a surface charges positively or negatively. Inaccurate SEY data directly compromises charging predictions, increasing risk in harsh radiation environments, especially for new materials lacking well‑characterized properties.
EMA’s SERE Lab has established dedicated SEY measurement for spacecraft charging, making EMA one of the few organizations with both insulator SEY testing and integrated simulation capabilities. Using a pulsed, low‑current electron beam and custom instrumentation, EMA characterizes insulating flight materials across relevant energy ranges (50–5000 eV) while preserving surface state for accurate results. This measured data feeds directly into simulation workflows, enabling more reliable, material‑specific charging risk assessments.
Attendees will walk away with:
- A clear understanding of mission-to-silicon workflows for modeling radiation effects using Ansys Charge Plus
- Insight into how GPU acceleration and EDA integration are improving simulation speed and design iteration
- Knowledge of secondary electron yield (SEY) measurement techniques and their impact on charging accuracy
- A practical view of closed-loop validation, combining simulation with SERE Lab measurement data
Don’t miss this opportunity to see how physics-based simulation and validated testing can transform your approach to space system design.
Join us on July 22 at 1 p.m. ET.
Speaker: Kevin-Druis Merenda
EMA Principal Scientist I
Kevin-Druis Merenda is a principal scientist at EMA and the lead product manager of Ansys EMC Plus and Ansys Charge Plus. Kevin’s expertise is in atmospheric electricity physics, elementary particle physics and computational physics. Through webinars or at conferences, Kevin gives regular updates on the development progress of the two software solutions. He is very excited to discuss this update on the latest big development to the EMA physics solvers.
Speaker: Justin Christensen
EMA Staff Scientist
Justin Christensen is a Staff Scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications, Inc (EMA) working in the Space Environment and Radiation Effects (SERE) testing laboratory. His work focuses on measuring and modeling spacecraft charging behavior, with specialization in secondary electron yield (SEY) measurement, low-current detection, and charging dynamics of spacecraft materials. Before joining EMA in 2024, Justin spent six years at Sandia National Laboratories as a technologist in a team of atomic physics researchers, where he contributed to experimental design, fabrication, testing, and data analysis. While there, he gained experience building sensors, designing circuit boards, performing low-frequency electrometry, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams of researchers. A significant project involved translating optical-table-scale experiments into compact, transportable sensor systems. Justin holds a master’s degree in physics from Utah State University, where he studied spacecraft charging and performed SEY measurements on high-yield, low-conductivity dielectrics, as well as characterized optical emissions from materials exposed to space-like electron fluxes.
