The TRIDENT BASE is a hardware platform that mechanically suspends a spring-loaded UHF probe while furnishing a robust electrical interface to the device under test. Its design, fabricated at the current limits of modern high-frequency manufacturing, combines a unified grounding scheme, magnetic clamping, and open-hardware licensing to support reproducible, high-performance measurement setups for research and engineering applications.

Features

Hand-formable SMA cable assembly: Provides a flexible SMA-to-SMA link that both suspends the probe and creates a sturdy mechanical connection to the DUT.
Unified copper chassis: A continuous copper enclosure bonded to the board and tied to ground establishes a low-impedance return path and a shared ground plane for the probe and base, improving signal repeatability.
Dual-function enclosure: Acts simultaneously as a low-impedance return network (preserving signal integrity across a broad frequency range) and as an electromagnetic shield that isolates the probe from ambient interference.
Magnetic clamping: Integrated neodymium magnets generate a constant attractive force, securing the assembly to any metal surface and suppressing translational and vibrational motion during testing.
Open-hardware licensing: All design files are released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence (CERN-OHL-S), permitting unrestricted modification, redistribution, and collaborative improvement, thereby fostering a transparent ecosystem for researchers and engineers.

Funding

This project received funding through NGI0 Entrust, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet program. Learn more at the NLnet project page.