Modeling and analysis of radio frequency connector degradation using time domain reflectometry technique

Radio frequency (RF) connectors play an important role in electronic and communication systems. Their reliability behavior directly affects the integrity of transmitted signals and degradation in the contact surface reduces reliability. In this work, a combination of experimental and theoretical analysis was used to investigate the effects of contact interface degradation in RF connectors using time domain reflectometry (TDR), and the TDR analysis technique had been employed to identify the faulty position. A series of experiments was conducted to measure the reflected voltages using a network analyzer for time domain analysis and the position of the degraded contact surface was identified. An equivalent circuit model was developed, and the failure mechanism analyzed. It was found that when the connector initially degrades, the inductive characteristics increase. As further degradation occurs, the inductive characteristic will decrease, and the resistance characteristics will become more significant. The simulation and experimental results show good consistency each other. The contact degradation process of RF connector and TDR variations under different degradation levels were performed from the perspective of the time domain.