NIST Passive Intermodulation Measurement Comparison for Wireless Base Station Equipment

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has initiated a passive intermodulation measurement comparison for the U.S. wireless industry. The goal is to determine the agreement in the measurements of third-order intermodulation products of passive devices made by participating companies for currently deployed communication bands. We provide the details of this comparison along with preliminary results. In addition, we present a model describing third-order intermodulation distortion within a cable assembly and show how the cable and load affect passive intermodulation measurements.