Impact of Temperature Cycling on Power Jumps of Passive Intermodulation in Coaxial Connectors

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Abstract
This paper analyzes the phenomenon of third-order intermodulation (IM3) power jumps during temperature cycling, and proposes a prediction method for estimating the probability of IM3 power jumps in coaxial connectors. Preliminary real-time measurement has shown that the passive intermodulation (PIM) products of coaxial connectors can be divided into two parts: steady-state and dynamic-changes during alternating high and low temperatures. Therefore, separate studies are conducted on these two parts and predictive models are established. First, a nonlinear expression for calculating the current density of coaxial connectors under varying temperature was derived based on the thermionic emission effect. The stress-strain relationship during temperature cycling at the contact surface was studied through finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. Combining the thermionic emission current and electrical contact theory, a steady-state PIM prediction model for coaxial connectors was established. Then, the influence mechanism of temperature cycling on the PIM power jumps in coaxial connectors was elucidated. According to the experimental results and predicted data of the steady-state PIM, the jump index was introduced, and the grey system method (GM) was used to predict the probability of the PIM power jumps. Finally, a series of temperature cycling tests were conducted to monitor the power of PIM products in real-time, verifying the accuracy of the proposed method. Furthermore, the Poisson method is applied to evaluate the effects of temperature ranges, temperature change rates, and contact areas on the probability of PIM power jumps. The proposed method addresses existing limitations in understanding PIM power jumps and offers a novel approach to detecting performance failures in coaxial connectors, thereby providing valuable guidance for improving the reliability.
Funding Information
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFF0605904)
  • Specialized Scientific Research Projects of Chinese Institute of Electronics and Beijing Smart-chip Microelectronics Technology Company Ltd

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