A Comparator-based Technique for Identification of Intentional Electromagnetic Interference Attacks

Time-domain intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) signals can be very fast, making it difficult and costly for any detection, location or identification system to digitize them with full time and amplitude resolutions. This paper presents a novel technique for the identification of the type of waveform associated with an IEMI attack and for the estimation of the waveform parameters based on the number of times that a detected waveform crosses comparator thresholds in a known time interval. Simulations show that the technique is very effective for three canonical waveform types: a damped sinusoid, a continuous wave, and a single pulse. To implement this technique in hardware, standard of-the-shelf components can be used.