The Effects Of Electrical Contacts Degradation On High Frequency Behavior Of RF Connectors

Coaxial connectors are an essential component in radio frequency and microwave systems.They are the bridge between devices and devices,circuits and circuits,and devices and circuits.The degradation of the electrical contact surface of the connector can affect its signal integrity.In this study,the SMA(Subminiature-A)connector is selected as the research object and the impact of the degradation of the electrical contact surface on the signal transmission is discussed in detail.Based on the corrosion acceleration experiments,the coaxial connector samples with different degrees of degradation were obtained.By analyzing the degraded surface morphology of the connector pins,the equivalent impedance model of the contact surface was established.According to the structural size and material parameters of the connector,the 3D electromagnetic field model of the connector with degraded contact surface is established in the electromagnetic field numerical simulation software CST(Computer Simulation Technology)and the S parameters and surface current distribution are simulated and analyzed.According to the transmission line theory,the equivalent circuit of the distributed parameters of the coaxial connector is established.The equivalent impedance model of the degraded contact surface is introduced to the model to establish the connector circuit model with the degenerate contact surface.The S parameters are analyzed by the ADS simulation circuit model.Finally,the S-parameters of the degraded connector of both simulation models are verified experimentally and measured by vector network analyzer.The test results data match well with the data obtained by the electromagnetic field model and the equivalent circuit model.The results of this research study are of great significance for understanding the effect of electrical contact degradation on signal integrity and fault analysis.