Precise Measurement of IMD Behavior in 5-GHz HTS Resonators and Evaluation of Nonlinear Microwave Characteristics

The intermodulation distortion (IMD) of a 5-GHz HTS resonator is precisely measured and a nonlinear analysis is conducted. When designing a radio communication system that uses an HTS microwave device, the device´s IMD characteristic is one of the most important problems that must be quantitatively evaluated. The amplitudes of third-order IMD (IMD3) and higher-order IMD, which are generated in an HTS resonator given a two-tone fundamental signal, are measured in detail using a fundamental signal cancellation circuit. Moreover, the relative phase of IMD3 is obtained by using a novel measurement system constructed around a reference IMD3 generator. The measured IMD3 phase shows a drastic change in a relatively low IMD3 amplitude region. In addition, the measured resonator exhibits strong higher-order IMD. A nonlinear evaluation using complex power series representation confirms that the drastic phase change may be due to the higher-order distortions present in IMD3.