CDM's phase-matched RF jumper cable sets ensure accurate signal arrivals.

News

RF Jumper Cables Meet Relative or Absolute Phase-Matching Needs

Feb. 19, 2025

Materials, match testing, and final assembly processes ensure precision and a consistent phase relationship between cables within sets.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

The Overview: Phase Matching Engineered In-House

Thanks to a meticulous phase-matching process, CDM Inc. offers RF jumper-cable assemblies that meet users’ demands for length, dielectric materials, and temperature specifications. With this capability, CDM offers a single resource for cable design, materials requirements, testing, and final assembly.

Who Needs It & Why: Precision Signal Arrivals

Many timing-critical applications require sets of cables ensuring that signals arrive at a specific point in the wave cycle. These include, but are not limited to, phased-array antennas, high-speed digital interconnects, military and aerospace radar, healthcare equipment, test and measurement equipment, and satellite communications.

Under the Hood: Rigorous Test and Assembly Processes

Two types of phase matching are offered in CDM’s RF jumper-cable assemblies. One is absolute phase matching; each cable in the assembly is matched to a specific phase value. The other is relative phase matching, in which cables in a set are matched to each other but not necessarily set to a specified absolute phase value.

CDM identifies and sources the specified cable lengths, dielectric materials, and temperature parameters, which are the primary factors affecting phase matching. The company uses Rohde & Schwarz test equipment, including a ZNL20 vector analyzer that provides a frequency range of 5 kHz to 20 GHz, and a ZNLE vector analyzer that covers 100 kHz to 20 GHz. All assembly work and phase-match testing take place at CDM’s Turnersville, N.J., manufacturing facility.

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About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.