Electromagnetic Effects and Threats

Research work in our Business Unit focuses on how deliberate electromagnetic interference affects the regular operation of critical electronic systems. We also analyze threat scenarios played out under the collective name “Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI)”.

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)

For Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), general legal requirements require that electronic devices can be operated side by side without interference. This means that a device’s own emissions may not exceed standardized limits. Neither may a device be affected, beyond a certain degree, by external radiation.

Protecting Critical Infrastructures

Our laboratory research focuses specifically on scenarios outside this clearly-defined legal protective framework. When high power transmitters deliberately target nearby electronics systems, they can cause serious interference or damage. So here, the primary focus is on protecting the critical infrastructures that uphold crucial social processes. Our work systematically examines probability, symptoms and consequences in the case of functional failures in data centers, industrial control systems and other security-critical equipment.

Our technical approach at Fraunhofer INT is to use strictly-controlled laboratory conditions to simulate and quantify the effects of interference attempts. At hand for this work is our highly-specialized equipment, involving high performance signal sources and test environments. Diagnosis is based on the latest measuring tools. We also use numerical methods for field computation.

Clients for our Business Unit come from the military, the civil public sector, and industry. Based on tried and tested EMC measurement methods, we offer customer-specific problem analyses at a high level of science. Fraunhofer INT collaborates internationally in this field, working together with defense institutions, the defense industry, universities and research bodies.