Basics of Inductive Coupling and Role of Decoupling Capacitors

Abstract

Electromagnetic coupling is the mechanism by which one circuit induces noise or interference in another adjacent circuit. This coupling mechanism generates Electromagnetic Interferences that degrade or even interrupt the operation of adjacent circuits. However, it is often rare in the academic and professional fields of power electronics to have sufficient knowledge to identify and address this problem. Therefore, intuition plays an important role in anticipating and dealing with this problem. This article describes the basic principles of this coupling mechanism and proposes simple solutions to this electromagnetic interference problem. These solutions must be applied right from the design phase of any electronic equipment. The problem described and its solutions are experimentally validated in a simple test circuit. This article is mainly oriented to the academic and professional field of power electronics and aims to describe in a simple and experimental way the problems associated with inductive coupling.