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M/A-COM Division of AMP Incorporated
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North America: Tel. (800) 366-2266, Fax (800) 618-8883
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Asia/Pacific: Tel. +85 2 2111 8088, Fax +85 2 2111 8087
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Europe: Tel. +44 (1344) 869 595, Fax +44 (1344) 300 020
www.macom.com
AMP and Connecting at a Higher Level are trademarks.
Specifications subject to change without notice.
V4.00
What is the best method of cable attachment for
IM sensitive cable assembly applications
Soldering and clamping are preferred methods due
to the 360-degree point of contact created at the cable to
connector interface. Such intimate contact improves the
overall contact resistance leading to improved IM
characteristics. In addition, it is also better to solder the
center conductor of the connector to the cable versus
crimping due to the improved contact resistance path
and elimination of voids.
Are there ways to test for intermodulation in an
RF coaxial connector
Yes, very sophisticated methods are needed to test for
intermodulation in RF connectors. The test system must
utilize
extremely
sensitive
amplification so that the equipment itself has a very low
intermodulation noise floor. There is not yet a
standardized approach to testing, although an
international committee has been formed in the
connector industry to address the situation. M/A-COM
has a state of the art test facility where our designs are
optimized for low intermod performance and where
further analysis on the effects of this phenomena can be
studied.
filtering
or
clean
Is intermodulation in coaxial connectors frequency
dependent
No. Because coaxial connectors are broadband
devices there is no frequency dependency. Some
apparent variability can be detected during testing but
this is not due to the connector. The impedance matches
of the output diplexer/triplexer and terminations are the
causes of the variations and should not be incorrectly
attributed to the connector/assembly. M/A-COM
Interconnect Business Unit has demonstrated that by
varying the impedance match of the test station
termination, a DUT can show 15dB better IMP
3
than
exists in reality.
IMP
3
in mixers follows a 3dB/dB relationship.
What is it for connectors
The relationship is identical. Taking the 3rd order
(2F1-F2): varying the power of F2 gives an IMP
3
relationship of 1dB/dB whereas varying the power of F1
gives a relationship of 2dB/dB as the IMP is derived
from the 2nd harmonic of F1. This gives a total of
3dB/dB when symmetrically varying both carrier
powers.
I am buying a complete cable assembly from
M/A-COM.HowdoIinterprettheIMP resultnow
With caution! It is M/A-COM’s policy when testing
devices to move away from the normal static test to a
dynamic test where the cable termination interfaces are
mechanically exercised during live IM conditions. It is
also a good indicator to customers of the build quality of
the assemblies. A dynamic evaluation has shown 15dB
degradation in IMP performance for poor assemblies
and even as much as 50dB for bad ones.
It is therefore strongly advisable that IM performance
figures are stated in the context of a dynamic
measurement.
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