Passive Intermodulation Measurement:Challenges and Solutions

In modern wireless communication systems,the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)is one of the most important performance indicators.When the other radio frequency(RF)performance of the components is well designed,passive intermodulation(PIM)interference may become an important factor limiting the system’s SNR.Whether it is a base station,an indoor distributed antenna system,or a satellite system,there are stringent PIM level requirements to minimize interference and enhance network capacity in multicarrier networks.Especially for systems of high power and wide bandwidth such as 5G wireless communication,PIM interference is even more serious.Due to the complexity and uncertainty of PIM,measurement is the most important means to study and evaluate the PIM performance of wireless communication systems.In this review,the current main PIM measurement methods recommended by International Electrotechnical Commission(IEC)and other standard organizations are introduced,and several key challenges in PIM measurement and their solutions(including the design of PIM tester,the location of the PIM sources,the design of compact PIM anechoic chambers,and the evaluation methods of PIM anechoic chambers)are highlighted.These challenges are of great significance to solve PIM problems that may arise during device characterization and verification in real wireless communication systems.

Estimation of Intermodulation Rejection Value as a Function of Frequency in Power Amplifier Using AM-AM and AM-PM Diagrams Based on Power Series Analysis

A method to predict intermodulation (IM) products of two tone test based on Amplitude to amplitude (AM-AM) and amplitude to phase (AM-PM) diagrams of power amplifier is proposed in this paper. An RF power amplifier is mathe-matically modeled by a power series in order of 13. Coefficients of the transfer function are obtained by odd-order polynomial fitting of the transfer function of the power amplifier that is modeled by power series, with AM-AM and AM-PM diagrams. Because of considering AM-PM distortion, coefficients have become complex. By using this transfer function, analytical expressions of IM products are derived. Frequency effect of IM products are modeled in suggested method to estimate the effects of changing in input frequency on output. With the mean of this factor the model is able to predict IM products of wideband frequency input. Simulated results agree well with the predicted method in comparisons.

A nonlinear equivalent circuit method for analysis of passive intermodulation of mesh reflectors

Passive intermodulation（PIM） has gradually become a serious electromagnetic interference due to the development of high-power and high-sensitivity RF/microwave communication systems, especially large deployable mesh reflector antennas. This paper proposes a field-circuit coupling method to analyze the PIM level of mesh reflectors. With the existence of many metal–metal（MM） contacts in mesh reflectors, the contact nonlinearity becomes the main reason for PIM generation. To analyze these potential PIM sources, an equivalent circuit model including nonlinear components is constructed to model a single MM contact so that the transient current through the MM contact point induced by incident electromagnetic waves can be calculated. Taking the electric current as a new electromagnetic wave source, the far-field scattering can be obtained by the use of electromagnetic numerical methods or the communication link method. Finally, a comparison between simulation and experimental results is illustrated to verify the validity of the proposed method.

Adaptive suppression of passive intermodulation in digital satellite transceivers

For the performance issues of satellite transceivers suffering passive intermodulation interference,a novel and effective digital suppression algorithm is presented in this paper.In contrast to analog approaches,digital passive intermodulation（PIM） suppression approaches can be easily reconfigured and therefore are highly attractive for future satellite communication systems.A simplified model of nonlinear distortion from passive microwave devices is established in consideration of the memory effect.The multiple high-order PIM products falling into the receiving band can be described as a bilinear predictor function.A suppression algorithm based on a bilinear polynomial decorrelated adaptive filter is proposed for baseband digital signal processing.In consideration of the time-varying characteristics of passive intermodulation,this algorithm can achieve the rapidness of online interference estimation and low complexity with less consumption of resources.Numerical simulation results show that the algorithm can effectively compensate the passive intermodulation interference,and achieve a high signal-to-interference ratio gain.

In-band intermodulation induced by transient response of erbium-doped fiber amplifier

Transient response of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier(EDFA) is studied in an externally-modulated analog link.Double tones represented as transmitted radio frequency and dither signals are introduced.Extra modulation is generated owing to the EDFA’s transient response caused by a low-frequency dither signal.Therefore,the parasitic modulation is superposed to the output signals and may significantly affect in-band electrical spectra.Analytical and numerical solutions are both given,which agree well with experimental results.This work indicates that a suitable dither signal should be selected to maximize the carrier to intermodulation ratio.In-band spurious free dynamic range is optimized in the meantime.

The Effect of High Power at Microwave Frequencies on the Linearity of Non-Polar Dielectrics in Space RF component

In satellite communication systems, there are high power multichannel transmitters and wideband receivers that have shared RF antenna transmission lines because of: 1) large power level difference between the transmitted and received signal;2) limited frequency channels. The harmonics and Passive Intermodulation (PIM) Interference will be generated due to passive non-linearities in the high power transmission path. This can be a serious problem. This paper describes how to determine the signal levels and dominant mechanisms that are associated with non-linear dielectric behavior in this context. A novel measurement system for testing dielectric samples is described and measurement results are provided for commonly used microwave dielectrics.

Behavior modeling on the PIM performance in connectors using FEA method and circuit simulation

Coaxial connectors are generally regarded as a kind of potential passive non-linear source when magnetic materials are applied in the coating or under-plating, which may result in serious passive intermodulation(PIM) interference and degrade the communication quality. In this paper, the effect of connector coating materials on the PIM is theoretically studied using finite element analysis(FEA) and circuit simulations. Considering the material composition both in central and outer conductor, an FEA model of connector is proposed to identify the current density in magnetic material region. An equivalent circuit model expressing the nonlinearity in coating material is developed, coupled with the non-linear transfer model. The PIM product power of the connector with related material configuration is predicted by harmonic balance simulation. Intentionally design connector samples are used in PIM tests and the measurement results are consistent with the theoretical predictions. The PIM performance in coaxial connectors is demonstrated from the perspectives of both modeling analysis and experimental investigations.

Realization of an analog predistortion circuit for RF optical fiber links

This paper presents an analog predistortion circuit for RF optical fiber links. The circuit consists of two source-coupled differential transconductance amplifiers which could provide linear and nonlinear transfer characteristics by adjusting the bias voltage and the transistor sizes. The circuit was designed and realized in a standard 0,18-μm CMOS technology of SMIC. The chip occupies 0.48 × 0.24 mm^2. The DC supply is 3.3 V. Using this circuit, the third-order intermodulation distortion （IMD） suppression of a directly modulated RF optical fiber link can be improved by 9-16 dBc at relatively low cost.

Design and implementation of a high-efficiency concurrent dual-band power amplifier

This paper studies the behaviors of power amplifier（PA） driven by a single-carrier continuous wave（CW） signal and a two-carrier CW signal both in theory and simulation, and explains why the traditional dual-band PA failed to perform satisfactory results when a two-carrier CW signal is applied to, called concurrently. Besides that, an evaluation standard of concurrent dual-band PA was presented to value its performance. Solution was given with design and fabrication of a concurrent 1.85 GHz/2.65 GHz class F PA, employing a 10 W GaN HEMT device from Cree, CGH40010, whose measurement shows the saturated output power is 40.6 d Bm and 40.8dB m with drain efficiencies（DE） of 77.4% and 75.3% at 1.85 GHz and 2.65 GHz, respectively. On the other hand, we see that the peak DE achieves 59.7% with an output power of 39.9 dB m in concurrent mode, which follows up with the standard.