Cascaded Third Order Intercept Calculator
Estimate input and output third-order intercept for a chain from entered stage power gains and input intercepts.
YOUR CALCULATION
Result
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Calculation steps
Work through one step at a time or reveal the complete calculation. The steps use your current inputs.
How to calculate
Refer each stage’s nominal two-tone third-order term back to the chain input.
1/IIP3total=Σ(previous cumulative power gain/IIP3stage), using linear mW and power ratios
Worked example
Two stages of10 dB gain each and20 dBm IIP3 each give input intercept about9.58607 dBm.
Assumptions and input details
Same impedance/power reference and low-distortion cascade approximation. No interstage selectivity, phase cancellation, compression, memory, harmonics or safe input-power determination. Input lists are model values, not product specifications.
References: Analog Devices: cascaded intercept
Using this calculator
Can I enter my own problem?
Yes. Replace the example values with your own inputs. The result, calculation steps, tables and applicable diagrams update from those inputs. Blank or invalid values clear the result; example values are never silently substituted for missing inputs.
Are the results exact?
Results use floating-point arithmetic and displayed rounding. Read the formula, assumptions and any stated data precision before interpreting the result.
Is my input uploaded?
The calculation runs in your browser. No account, file upload or external AI service is required. Inputs are not saved between page reloads.
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