Radiated EMI emission study on photovoltaic module for radio astronomy receiver front-end

Photovoltaic (PV) solar module is one of the possible off-grid energy generations considered to power the receiver front-end of the square kilometer array low-frequency aperture array (SKA-low) project. However, PV module must be designed carefully and evaluated thoroughly to ensure that the module would not degrade the sensitivity and performance of the receiver. This paper presents a study on the electromagnetic behaviour of a typical PV panel structure and on the radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) emission from a typical commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solar charger module. The purpose is to give an insight of possible EMI emission from the PV module, in the context of SKA-low receiver evaluation and development at ICRAR/ Curtin, Western Australia.