ZED-F9P-Integration Manual
UBX-18010802 - R01
4 Electromagnetic
interference on I/O lines
Page 36 of 64
Objective Specification - Confidential
4 Electromagnetic interference on I/O lines
Any I/O signal line with a length greater than approximately 3 mm can act as an antenna and may
pick up arbitrary  RF signals transferring  them  as noise into  the GNSS receiver.  This  specifically
applies  to  unshielded  lines,  in  which  the  corresponding  GND  layer  is  remote  or  missing  entirely,
and lines close to the edges of the printed circuit board. If, for example, a cellular signal radiates
into an unshielded high-impedance line, it is possible to generate noise in  the order of volts and
not only distort receiver operation but also damage it permanently. Another type of interference
can be caused by noise generated at the PIO pins that emits from unshielded I/O lines. Receiver
performance  may  be  degraded  when  this  noise  is  coupled  into  the  GNSS  antenna.  To  avoid
interference by improperly shielded lines, it is recommended to use resistors  or ferrite beads on
the I/O lines in series. These components should be chosen with care because they will affect also
the signal rise  times. Alternatively, feed-thru  capacitors with good  GND connection close  to the
GNSS  receiver  can  be  used.  EMI  protection  measures  are  particularly  useful  when  RF  emitting
devices are placed next to the GNSS receiver and/or to minimize the risk of EMI degradation due to
self-jamming. An adequate layout with a robust grounding concept is essential in order to protect
against EMI.
It is recommended that EMI filters or resistors are placed on the I/O lines as shown below:
Figure 36: ZED-F9P EMI protection
Intended Use: In order to mitigate any performance degradation of a radio equipment under
EMC disturbance, system integration shall adopt appropriate EMC design practice and not
contain cables over three meters on signal and supply ports.
4.1 General notes on interference issues
Received GNSS signal power at the antenna are very low. At the nominal received signal strength
(-128 dBm) it is below the thermal noise floor of -111 dBm . Due to this fact, a GNSS receiver is
susceptible to interference from nearby RF sources of any kind. Two cases can be distinguished: