PotentialforRadioFrequencyInterferencefromLEDLighting.docVIP

International Civil Aviation Organization ACP WG-F/31 IP01 Aeronautical Communications Panel Working Group F Meeting 31 Seattle, Washington October 6-10, 2014 Agenda Item 9 Interference from non-aeronautical sources Potential for Radio Frequency Interference from LED Lighting (Presented by Mike Biggs) SUMMARY This paper presents information regarding ongoing testing to determine the radio frequency emissions from light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems. The purpose of this information paper is to raise awareness in the aviation community that some LED lighting products can cause significant radiation in frequency bands of interest to aviation. Given the global interest in the energy-saving properties of LED lighting, aviation authorities should be aware of this potential for interference to aviation systems. 1.0 Background Some Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lighting products have been reported to emit noise, particularly radiated emissions in the 30MHz to 300MHz. While the diodes themselves do not generate any detectable noise, the systems incorporate switching power circuitry circuit to provide constant current sourcing. These switching drive circuits operate at high frequencies and also need to maintain very high slew rates. When not properly filtered, these circuits can result in electromagnetic interference. While this is a known issue in the LED community, it is not necessarily well-known by the LED product consumers. Given the increased interest by the aviation community to save energy by using LEDs (e.g., for runway lighting systems), use of these systems needs to consider the aviation systems operating in the potentially-impacted frequencies (e.g., ILS, VOR, VHF communications, etc.) 2.0 Initial Results As stated above, these effects are well known within the LED community. Some representative results can be found at: /faq/LED-interference-issues.html /2011/07/radio-interference-from-led-light