Intermodulation

Abstract

This article presents a broad overview of intermodulation distortion (IMD) in microwave and RF circuits and systems. It starts by putting IMD in the context of the linear and nonlinear perturbations of telecommunication systems to then explain its physical origins and most common theoretical analysis methods and laboratory characterization setups. For that, several device/system models and analytical and numerical techniques are addressed as well as the nonlinear distortion generation mechanisms present in typical microwave small‐signal amplifiers, high‐power amplifiers, and frequency converters are reviewed.