INTRINSIC SAFETY ISOLATION WITH CAPACITIVE COUPLING

摘要

A communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a printed circuit board having a thickness that complies with an intrinsic safety physical separation specification. A first pair of capacitive plates (300, 302) are disposed on opposite sides of the printed circuit board and are arranged to form a first capacitor having an insulating layer (304) of the printed circuit board forming a dielectric material for the first capacitor. A second pair of capacitive plates (300, 302) are disposed on opposite sides of the printed circuit board and are arranged to form a second capacitor having the insulating layer (304) of the printed circuit board forming a dielectric material for the second capacitor. A modulator (152) is coupled to the first and second capacitors and is configured to receive an input signal (150) having an input signal frequency and to provide a modulated signal having a frequency that is higher than the input signal (150). A demodulator (156) is coupled to the first and second capacitors and configured to detect the modulated signal and provide a demodulated signal having the input signal (150) frequency.