Suppression of Mode Conversion by Improved Shielding Effect of Ethernet Cable Connector Based on Imbalance Factor Matching

When two transmission lines with different imbalance factor are connected, mode conversion occurs at that interface point. The aim of this paper is to suppress mode conversion by improving the shielding of Ethernet cable connector or RJ45 connector of male and female types. By focusing on it, we improved the shielding of the connector by filling gaps at the edge of the connector shield with copper foil tape and the gap between the underside of the female type connector and the printed circuit board, with solder. In this way, the improved shielding around the connector makes the imbalance factor of the connector section close to that of the cable section, and results in the suppression of mode conversion. Based on this idea, it was experimentally confirmed that the shield-improved male type connector shows better reduction of mode conversion than the shield-improved female type connector. Moreover, more reduction in mode conversion was observed when implement the improved shielding of male and female type connectors together.