RF and Microwave Coaxial Cable and Connectors
University of Washington Electrical Engineering & Agilent Technologies RF Laboratory RF and Microwave Coaxial Cable and Connectors Routing of RF and microwave signals with minimum loss and minimum reflections requires controlled impedance lines and connectors. This requires significantly more engineering effort than the simple point-to-point wiring of low frequency electronics. Once off of a printed circuit board, the most common transmission line for RF and microwave signals is the coaxial cable. These are also the standard means for getting signals into and out of various instruments and subassemblies. Connectors for coaxial cables also play a critical role, since they must maintain the controlled impedance of the transmission line while still providing connect and disconnect service. Coaxial Cable The most critical electrical parameters for specifying coaxial cable are: (1) the characteristic impedance Z0, (2) the loss or attenuation per unit length α, and (3) the voltage breakdown strength BV. In addition, there are the mechanical parameters of outside diameter d0, tensile strength, and minimum bend radius. The characteristic impedance of a coaxial cable, or any other transmission line, fundamentally gives the ratio of the electric to magnetic field strength of an electromagnetic wave propagating along the line. For a coaxial cable, the characteristic impedance is related to the inside and outside radii of the dielectric, a and b, respectively, and the permittivity ε and permeability μ of the dielectric material, 1 376.7 Z0 ln b a ln b a . 2 2r The circuit parameters per unit length of the coaxial cable are RS 11 R /m, L ln b a H/m, 22ab 22 GC S/m, F/m.
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