Passive intermodulation products may occur when two or more carriers are transmitted through a passive device such as a filter, a transmission line or an antenna or if they are reflected from one object. These products are generally due to distributed non-linearity along the transmission path or the reflector of the antenna. We show that ray optics can be used to determine easily the directions in which these products are in phase and reinforced. This is particularly significant for multihorn fed reflector antennas, for multiple antennas systems and for higher dynamic in measurement of passive intermodulation.

Passive intermodulation products may occur when two or more carriers are transmitted through a passive device such as a filter, a transmission line or an antenna or if they are reflected from one object. These products are generally due to distributed non-linearity along the transmission path or the reflector of the antenna. We show that ray optics can be used to determine easily the directions in which these products are in phase and reinforced. This is particularly significant for multihorn fed reflector antennas, for multiple antennas systems and for higher dynamic in measurement of passive intermodulation.

This paper proposes a multi-tone signal pattern designed for accurate and easy measurements of nonlinear devices linearity factors of merit. The stimulus signal we propose ensures that DUT’s third order intermodulation products won’t overlap. Thus, the relative phases of source tones do not affect the amplitudes of intermodulation products. The usual metrics for linearity factors, ACPR (Adjacent Channel Power Ratio) or NPR (Noise Power Ratio), can be acquired with a greater accuracy only with amplitude measurements. This work has been carried out with a sampler-based receiver, using FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) filtering for tone separation.

Les produits d’intermodulation passifs ne suivent pas la loi classique d’augmentation de puissance de 3 dB par dB de puissance d’entrée. Un modèle basé sur des fonctions non-analytique permet de simuler correctement ce comportement pour deux ou plusieurs porteuses. Le modèle explique l’amélioration du rapport C/I lorsque le nombre de porteuses augmente et permet de calculer cette amélioration à partir des mesures à deux porteuses et de la pente. Ceci permet de relâcher les spécifications à deux porteuses de 4 dB si la pente est de 2,5 dB/dB et de 8 dB si la pente est de 2 dB/dB pour une même performance en multi-porteuse. Cette relaxation peut permettre d’utiliser une technologie d’antenne de masse ou de coût plus faible alors qu’elle n’aurait pas été acceptée en l’absence de modèle.

We propose to use memristors as memory nonlinear circuits to build behavioral models useful in the simulation of passive inter-modulation in RF and microwave devices such as filters, antennas and in general connections

Leon Chua introduced memristors in 1971 [1] as an ideal two-terminal circuit element in complement to the already known three basic circuit elements: resistor, inductor and capacitor (RLC). Memristors are defined by a non-linear memristance that relates the flux (or integral of voltage across the device) to the charge (or integral of current in the device). Because of this definition the memristor will generate passive intermodulation products and their power will depend on the memory of the past current that is contained in the device.

Non-analytic behavioral models of passive non linearity presented in 2013 are used to define and propose new specifications for multicarrier passive intermodulation in antennas. A margin of up to 10 dB is obtained in some cases and can be used to relax 2-carrier PIM specifications.