Abstract:
The paper proposes and verifies a simulation method that can predict the passive intermodulation (PIM) product for metallic contact received by an antenna. The metallic contact interface in the radiation field is set as a discrete port of a nonlinear current source, and the PIM response accepted by the receiving port of the antenna can be obtained by CST field simulation with the nonlinear current source as the excitation source. A small amount of PIM test results can be applied to simulate and extract the nonlinear parameters of the device under test (DUT), which enables us to simulate and predict the PIM level of DUT at any position in the radiation field. Firstly, we employ a slotted coaxial antenna to measure the third-order PIM (PIM3) amplitude for the DUT of aluminum metallic contact at a specific position in the radiation field. Then, based on the field simulation the third-order nonlinear coefficient of DUT can be extracted. Finally, by adopting the determined nonlinear current sources, we can simulate and predict the PIM3 levels at different positions in the radiation field. The simulation evaluation and experimental results are consistent. This research provides a reliable and convenient approach to evaluating the PIM response of metallic contact and extracting the DUT’s nonlinear parameter in complex radiation field scenarios.