Effects of an External Multi-Harmonic EMI Excitation on the Transmission Bit Error Rates of a Redundant Channel Under Plane Wave Illumination

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of an external electromagnetic excitation comprising of various harmonics on a redundant communication channel are analysed and studied in detail. The geometry under study is subjected to strong incident plane waves with random angles of incidence and polarizations. The effects of a multi-harmonic Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) on the functional transmission signal of a redundant three-channel system is analyzed in a stochastic manner and the fault probabilities are quantified in terms of the resulting transmission Bit Error Rates (BERs).The study shows that the harmonics of the external EMI have a strong influence on the system’s functional response and lead to reduced immunity of the system which can lead to dangerous failures. The results reaffirm the need to realize and implement EMI resilience such that the system is inherently more robust against the adverse effects of electromagnetic disturbances and is able to cope with an uncertain harsh electromagnetic environment.