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HUBER+SUHNER® RF CONNECTOR GUIDE Understanding connector technology Published by HUBER+SUHNER (www.hubersuhner.com)

HUBER+SUHNER RF CONNECTOR GUIDE 4th edition, 2007 HUBER+SUHNER® is a registered trademark of HUBER+SUHNER AG Copyright© HUBER+SUHNER AG, 1996 Published in Switzerland by HUBER+SUHNER AG, Switzerland All rights reserved. In particular no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or translated, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of HUBER+SUHNER AG. Request of reproduction must be addressed to HUBER+SUHNER AG, CEO. Document no. 648116 Printed in Switzerland

PREFACE After having been in the RF Interconnection Market for more than fifty years, we felt the need to provide our business associates around the world with a booklet containing key information on coaxial connectors. Today, key concepts behind RF technology have not changed much - and this is what this booklet, the HUBER+SUHNER RF CONNECTOR GUIDE, is all about. It contains HUBER+SUHNER know how and experience in the field of connectors. Primarily, we aim this booklet at non-technically and technically skilled people who are daily confronted with purchasing, distributing or maybe installing...

The company portrait is also included in this booklet if further information about our company is desired. Finally, a separate formula booklet is enclosed in the pocket at the back cover of this booklet. It contains all equations described in the GUIDE. Among other things, it includes conversion tables to convert reflection quantities into, say, return loss. I hope you will find the HUBER+SUHNER RF CONNECTOR GUIDE as useful as we wanted it to be. HUBER+SUHNER AG July 2007 HUBER+SUHNER CONNECTOR GUIDE

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . 9 CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 CHAPTER 3: RF CONNECTOR DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 CHAPTER 4: TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 CHAPTER 5: APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 CHAPTER 6: REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 CHAPTER 7: INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 CHAPTER 8: NOTES . . . . . . . . . ....

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY DEFINITION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH FREQUENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1.1.1 CONSTRUCTION AND FUNCTION OF RF LINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1.2.1 Electromagnetic Field along a RF Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Resistances and Reactances in a RF Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Characteristic Impedance of a low-loss Line at High Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Relationship between Frequency and Wavelength . . . . . . . . 20 Influence of Dielectric Material on...

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY ATTENUATION LOSS OF RF LINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 1.4.1 Determination of the Attenuation Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Attenuation Loss Components of Conductor and Dielectric . . . . . . . . . . . 32 HUBER+SUHNER CONNECTOR GUIDE

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY DEFINITION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH FREQUENCY In this first chapter, the main emphasis is laid on explanations to typical parameters in the theory of RF transmission lines, containing coaxial connectors and cables. It should give an impression of how and why transmission lines perform as they do. At the same time, it should provide the reader with fundamental knowledge of common RF techniques including equations, thought as a help or base for the following chapters. In the first section of this chapter, we try to define what high frequency is compared to low frequency...

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY High frequency begins where currents and voltages become frequency dependent or where the wavelength becomes important [X — length of component) Abbreviations used: VHF very high frequency UHF ultra high frequency SHF super high frequency EHF extremely high frequency Table 1 Band Designations according to "VO Funk" (Radio Transmission Association) according * Coaxial connectors with operating frequencies within these ranges will be dealt with here. HUBER+SUHNER CONNECTOR GUIDE

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY CONSTRUCTION AND FUNCTION OF RF LINES Coaxial lines represent the most efficient method of transmitting signals from a source (Figure 3) via a RF line to a termination. The most commonly used method is that of cable assemblies, where the distance between the source and the termination is the assembly length. Direction of Propagation Source (load) Connector Pairs Figure 3 Direction of propagation along a RF line The most important factor in connector selection is the RF cable chosen, as this usually will set the minimum connector specifications such as physical...

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC RF THEORY Outer Conductor Dielectric (Insulator) Inner Conductor (Centre Contact) Figure 5 Due to the concentric inner and outer conductor construction, the coaxial line is well protected against outside influences. The signals will be transmitted in TEM-mode (Transversal Electric and Magnetic field) until the upper frequency limit, the so-called cut-off frequency (refer to Chapter 1.2.6 on page 18), is reached. The mechanical construction of the RF line determines this point. Basically, the smaller the mechanical dimensions the higher the frequencies. No fields exist in...