High Frequency Distortion Analysis of a Semiconductor Diode for CATV Applications

Intermodulation distortion generated in a semiconductor diode in series with a resistor is analysed using a Volterra series representation. The equivalent circuit of a diode includes the nonlinear junction conductance, nonlinear junction capacitance, series resistance and series inductance. Nonlinear terms up to and including the fifth order are considered. It is shown that for the VHF range of frequencies the diode capacitance can significantly affect the magnitude and phase of the total distortion at a given product frequency.