Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) problems in switching power supplies have been traditionally treated with cut-and-try approaches. In recent years, advancement has been made to better understand the problems and minimize the cut-and-try portion of the design process. However, there are still phenomena difficult to explain in many practical design situations. Often, the problems may be solved by luck but many puzzles remain unsolved. If not fully understood, these puzzles are very likely to come back to haunt the designers. According to the conventional theory, there are two modes of noise: the Differential-Mode (DM) noise and the Common-Mode (CM) noise. Recently, a new noise-coupling mode called Non-Intrinsic Differential-Mode (NIDM) noise was uncovered accidentally in the process of explaining certain EMI filter action [1]. This phenomenon has never been thoroughly studied. The focus of the present thesis is to investigate the NIDM phenomenon and its implications to practical EMI filter design issues. The generation mechanism and basic characteristics of this phenomenon will be briefly reviewed, which is crucial to the understanding of the remaining parts of the research. Two essential diagnostic tools are introduced. One is the DM/CM noise separator and the other is the zero-span mode operation of a spectrum analyzer. The results of the investigation will be presented. The results will be presented using practical examples, which tie the phenomenon to filter design issues. In some examples, explanations are given to dispel the puzzles commonly encountered in the practice. A filter design procedure is suggested for off-line power supplies. This procedure incorporates the NIDM phenomenon into an existing design procedure. Only first-order and second-order filter topologies are included in the discussion. / Master of Science