There are three types or sources of electromagnetic interference : natural, inherent, and
man-made. One way of categorizing the type of EMI is by the way it was created :
Natural interference is caused by natural events, such as snow storms, electrical storms,
rain particles and solar radiation. This type of interference is commonly called
static or atmospheric noise. It can cause problems with RF communications and older
data links between shore, ship, and air. However, it does not cause many problems with
modern digital data equipment.
(i) Narrowband:
Typically this form of EMI is likely to be a single carrier source possibly generated by
an oscillator of some form. Another form of narrowband EMI is the spurious signals
caused by inter modulation and other forms of distortion in a transmitter such as a
mobile phone of Wi-Fi router. These spurious signals will appear at different points
in the spectrum and may cause interference to another user of the radio spectrum. As
such these spurious signals must be kept within tight limits.
(ii) Broadband:
There are many forms of broadband noise which can be experienced. It can arise
from a great variety of sources. Man-made broadband interference can arise from
sources such as arc welders where a spark is continuously generated. Naturally
occurring broadband noise can be experienced from the Sun - it can cause sun-outs
for satellite television systems when the Sun appears behind the satellite and noise
can mask the wanted satellite signal. Fortunately these episodes only last for a few
minutes
The basic arrangement of noise source, coupling path and victim, receptor or sink is
shown in the figure below. Source and victim are usually electronic hardware devices,
though the source may be a natural phenomenon such as a lightning strike, electrostatic
discharge (ESD).
There are four basic coupling mechanisms: conductive, capacitive, magnetic or inductive,
and Radiative. Any coupling path can be broken down into one or more of these coupling
mechanisms working together. For example the lower path in the diagram involves
inductive, conductive and capacitive modes.
(i) Conductive coupling
Conductive coupling occurs when the coupling path between the source and the receptor
is formed by direct electrical contact with a conducting body, for example a transmission
line, wire, cable, PCB trace or metal enclosure.
Conducted noise is also characterized by the way it appears on different conductors: