Novel Programmable Passive Intermodulation Generator Using Nonlinear Rotating Disk

Abstract

This letter presents a programmable passive intermodulation (PIM) generator with 50-dB-dynamic range using nonlinear mechanical rotating disk. Its implementation is based on a strip-line structured configuration; a nickel-plated disk is inserted into polytetrafluoroethylene substrate through the slots on upper and central conductor. The partly nickel coated copper disk works as an artificial nonlinear sources. Through rotating this disk using stepper motor controlled by micro control unit, PIM product can be automatically tuned by regulating the electromagnetic exposure area on the nickel-plated region. A rational PIM quantization method for nickel-plated nonlinear region is propounded. The experiments demonstrate this PIM generator can perform controllable PIM level, ranges from −127 to −77.4 dBm at $2 \times 43$ dBm, while its finest step can be smaller than 0.3 dB. This letter demonstrates a solution to realize a tunable PIM standard for potential PIM dynamic calibration application.