Choke (electricity)

Article By:

Jones, Edwin C., Jr. Department of Electrical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.132700

An inductor that is used to prevent electric signals and energy from being transmitted along undesired paths or into inappropriate parts of an electric circuit or system. Power-supply chokes prevent alternating-current components, inherent to a power supply, from entering the electronic equipment. Radio-frequency chokes (RFCs) prevent radio-frequency signals from entering audio-frequency circuits. The printed circuit boards used in virtually all electronic equipment such as computers, television sets, and high-fidelity audio systems typically have one or more chokes. The purposes of these chokes are the (1) attenuation of spurious signals generated in the equipment itself so that these signals will not be transmitted to other parts of the circuit or beyond the overall system to other electronic devices; (2) prevention of undesired signals or electrical noise generated in other parts of the system from adversely affecting circuit performance; and (3) prevention of ripple from the power supply from degrading system behavior. Waveguide chokes keep microwave energy from being transmitted to the wrong part of a waveguide system. See also: Electrical noise; Electronic power supply; Printed circuit; Ripple voltage; Waveguide

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