Passive Intermodulation Distortion in Microwave Networks From Coaxial Connectors

Coaxial connectors are frequently the dominant contributors to passive intermodulation distortion in high-frequency networks. This paper reports on recent progress regarding modeling passive intermodulation in microwave networks. In particular we report on the excellent accuracy attained using a method of modeling the effect of multiple point sources of passive intermodulation as applied to coaxial connectors. In addition, we demonstrate that the inclusion of ferromagnetic metals in low-passive intermodulation connectors does not necessarily degrade the nonlinear performance of the connector, in contrast to many published low passive intermodulation design guidelines. 1