Analysis of Passive Intermodulation Distortion Induced by Fretting Corrosion in Coaxial Connectors

ABSTRACT

Environmental factors, such as oxidation, corrosion and vibration, can severely degrade the passive intermodulation (PIM) performance of RF devices and wireless systems. Coaxial connectors, widely used in these scenarios to join two separate parts, are highly sensitive to ambient vibrations. This paper presents an analytical method to evaluate the vibration‐induced PIM distortion in coaxial connectors. First, we establish a simplified model to characterise the fretting corrosion behaviour of coaxial connectors under vibration. An analytical formula is then derived to quantify the vibration‐induced PIM distortion. The proposed theoretical approach is finally validated using three fretting corrosion cases. The simulation and measurement results correlate well with the theoretical predictions, verifying the efficacy of the proposed method.