The Effect of the Current Pulse Width from LEDs on Narrowband Power Line Communication and its Analysis in Time and Frequency Domain

This paper presents the time and frequency domain analysis of the current pulse width from a non-linear load and its interference on the Power Line Communication (PLC). This investigation arises from the time-domain characteristics of the current from modern non-linear loads such as Light-Emitting Diode (LED) which show that the current generated by such loads have impulsive characteristics with a certain amplitude and pulse width. Communication test with PLC modem have been performed and the effects are simulated using LTSpice by creating an artificial non-linear load which can produce current pulses with an adjustable pulse width without changing the amplitude. The current pulse from the artificial load is analyzed in the time and frequency domain with MATLAB to observe the emission levels between 2150 kHz using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFFT).