SMA Jack for Board-Edge RF Launch
The Amphenol RF 901-9917-3 is a standard SMA jack — female socket, right-angle through-hole termination, 50 Ohm impedance. It is the board-mounted half of a threaded SMA interconnect, designed to mate with a male SMA plug (cable or bulkhead) using the standard 1/4-36 thread.
What the 12.4 GHz Ceiling Means for the Signal Path
The 12.4 GHz frequency rating is the upper end of the usable passband — beyond that, the VSWR and insertion loss rise above the SMA interface specification. For a 50 Ohm system running at 6 GHz or 10 GHz, this jack has headroom; at 18 GHz it does not. The limiting factor is not the centre contact geometry (beryllium copper with gold plating, good for high-cycle mating) but the dielectric and the right-angle launch transition through the PTFE insulator. The right-angle bend in the signal path adds a small inductive discontinuity that narrows the usable bandwidth compared to a straight-through SMA jack.
Mounting and Termination — Board Layout Notes
This is a right-angle through-hole part. The signal pin solders into the PCB, and the shield is terminated with solder to the ground plane — there is no crimp ferrule. The nickel-plated brass body provides the ground reference; the four ground legs (integral to the body) pass through the board and are soldered on the opposite side.