Abstract:
Contact nonlinearity is one of the important causes of passive intermodulation (PIM) signals in radio frequency equipment and circuits. Based on the analysis of the radio frequency equivalent circuit of the contact node, this paper proposes a PIM suppression method using eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) liquid metal alloy. EGaIn is different from traditional solder because it can achieve stable and reconfigurable connections at room temperature for the contact node positions. Firstly, the circuit model of the contact node under radio frequency is analyzed. Then, two printed inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) with different metal contact structures operating at 2.6GHz are designed and implemented. Finally, the intermodulation indices of the PIFA before and after EGaIn soldering are compared, with the PIM index being reduced by up to 35dB. This paper verifies that EGaIn can achieve reconfigurable soldering of the contact node positions of the PIFA at room temperature, providing a reference method for nonlinear suppression in electrical connections.