A low cost and high dynamic range receiver for passive intermodulation measurement

Passive intermodulation (PIM) is a form of signal distortion, generated by the small nonlinear characteristics of passive microwave or millimeter wave components such as cables, connectors, diplexers, power dividers/combiners or antennas when multiple-tone signal is imposed on it [1]. PIM distortion is always very weak compared to the nonlinear distortions generated by active devices such as amplifiers, mixers and modulators etc. In a view of system design, active intermodulation can usually be eliminated by filters, but it is difficult to consider the PIM components. Thus, in high power systems PIM will play a very important role in the nonlinear distortion.