Impact of Multiple Insertions and Withdrawals, and Vibration on Passive Intermodulation in Coaxial Connectors

Passive intermodulation (PIM) interference has a significant impact on the transmission quality of radio frequency (RF) communication systems. Coaxial connectors are one of the main nonlinear sources that cause PIM interference in communication systems. In addition, the degradation of connectors caused by multiple insertions and withdrawals, and vibration tends to degrade the PIM performance. In this current work, the mechanism of the influence of these factors on PIM was analyzed. A polynomial model was developed based on the tunneling effect in order to describe the PIM performance of coaxial connectors with various levels of degradation caused by multiple insertions and withdrawals, and vibration. A series of two-tone PIM tests on pristine connectors and degraded connectors were conducted. The test results show good agreement with the model results. This work serves to provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the impact of these factors on the PIM performance of coaxial connectors.