DesignCon 2009 in Review
By Bob Hult, Bishop & Associates Inc. 

The 13th edition of DesignCon opened amid apprehension about how the global economy will influence the electronic design and development community. Last year, the show was all about thriving in the relatively robust market; this year, the objective is to simply survive. Rumors of layoffs and program cancellations added urgency to the personal networking that has become a key element of DesignCon.

Overall, pre-registration and show attendance came close to matching last year’s numbers. Although participating exhibitors reported somewhat reduced traffic, the volume exceeded expectations. Many expressed relief that the quality of leads remained high. One of the primary draws of DesignCon has been the full schedule of technical seminars, forums, and tutorials. With over 600 papers submitted this year, only the top 100 were selected. Topics ranged from advanced chip modeling to design of 20+ Gb/s channels.

The electronic connector industry was well represented; 14 connector and several more high-performance cable assembly manufacturers demonstrated their most advanced products. Once again, high-speed backplane, mezzanine, and cable assemblies were highlighted.

 

Amphenol TCS showcased their wide range of high-performance interfaces, including the XCede platform. A new 85-Ohm version of XCede receptacles was specifically designed to support PCI Express 2.0, and 3.0, as well as the Intel QuickPath architecture. The modified right-angle receptacle requires no change to the daughtercard footprint and mates with the standard vertical pin header. 85 Ohm XCede receptacles are tooled in 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-pair versions.

Amphenol InterCon Systems also announced the availability of XCede cable assemblies that meet the performance requirements of the IEEE 802.3 10+ Gb/s standard. Cables are assembled using two and four differential pair wafers, which are now available with a 6-pair configuration planned in the future. Both 100- and 85-ohm assemblies are also available.



 

FCI Electronics featured a wide variety of interfaces, including AirMax VS with an 85-ohm receptacle and copper backplane-compatible cable assemblies.

FCI’s ZipLine shieldless high-speed backplane connector family continues to grow with a new coplanar right-angle pin header. The header module mates with a standard right-angle receptacle and enables 72 high-speed differential signals.

A highly unique configuration of the ZipLine orthogonal connector includes 12 orthogonal midplane wafers with two rows of standard backplane wafers on each side.
 

This 6 X 16 hybrid assembly provides 72 direct high-speed differential signals orthogonally through the midplane, with 72 additional contacts that can be used for single-ended or power requirements.

FCI is continuing to build up their full line of high-performance cable assemblies, including the new Mini-SAS and Mini SATA external cables. DensiShield and cables compatible with AirMax VS backplane headers were also displayed.

A new micro website provides a one-stop design resource for all FCI high-speed I/O products. This “landing page” includes access to 3D models, signal integrity models, data sheets, drawings, and product specifications, as well as product presentations.
 

After being absent from last year’s show, Hirose Electric was back with a large booth featuring two new high-speed mezzanine connectors.

The IT3 Series connector provides stacking heights ranging from 15 to 40mm, and is rated to 10+ Gb/s. Modifying the signal/ground ratio can reportedly boost the bandwidth to 20 Gb/s. A variety of stacking heights are achieved by using a shielded interposer assembly that is locked to the mounting receptacle. Select interposers have been tooled in 100-, 200-, and 300-position sizes.

Tyco Electronics was announced as the second source for the IT3 connector, which will be marketed under the Tyco brand name STRADA MZConn3 Series.

The XG1 Series is a high-density, two-row, surface-mounted mezzanine connector with contacts on 0.5mm centerlines. Stacking heights include 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40mm with 130 shielded contacts. A 6.5 amp per blade consisting of 13 contacts is available to satisfy requirements for distributing power to the mezzanine card.

Molex, in cooperation with Avago Technologies, demonstrated 20 Gb/s data rate over a 1-meter backplane using their Impact backplane connector system. The Impact connector is also now available with an 85-ohm daughtercard receptacle.

They were also showing a 10.3 Gb/s channel using their GBX I-Trac Orthogonal midplane connector system.

Molex announced ZXP interconnect technology, which will be utilized in their next generations of high-speed I/O interfaces. A modified SFP+ connector is designed to support data rates of up to 17 Gb/s. Initial connectors using ZXP technology are focused on 16 Gb/s Fibre channel applications, as well as supporting four-lane 100 GB Ethernet proposals.

A 14-inch copper-flex cable assembly, operating at 10 Gb/s and terminated with SEARAY mezzanine connectors using Solder Charge surface mount technology, illustrated the advantages of all three capabilities.

Molex also showed their new high-density EdgeLine coplanar and edge card connectors. Contacts are on 0.8mm centerlines and offer differential performance to 12.5 Gb/s. Circuit sizes vary from 30 to 294 positions.

SAMTEC featured several of their newer high-density board-to-board and board-to-cable interconnect systems, including their Q-Rate, Edge Rate, SEARAY, and IsoRate connectors. These interconnect systems combine high-speed and density in mezzanine, daughtercard, and coax-to-PCB applications.

The Spirit connector uses compression contacts-to-gold-pads on the PCB, and is a convenient way to attach micro ribbon coax.

The IsoRate connector features full coaxial contacts mating to discrete coaxial cables.

 

Tyco Electronics announced two entirely new connectors that push the limits of existing product.

The STRADA Whisper backplane connector is rated from 25 to 40 Gb/s and features individually shielded differential pair construction. A micro Action Pin press-fit terminal on the daughtercard minimizes distortion attributed to the footprint. This skewless connector was designed to minimize crosstalk and insertion loss. The STRADA Whisper connector is the first backplane connector system rated to perform at up to 40 Gb/s.

The STRADA Mesa mezzanine connector is designed for 15+ Gb/s applications. It features the unique capability of combining high-speed, low-speed, and 10 amp power contacts in a single housing. Stacking heights range from 8 to 42mm in 1mm increments. Taller heights incorporate vented housings to allow improved cooling airflow. The connector is designed to provide up to 64 high-speed differential pairs per inch.

An 85-ohm version of the Z-Pack TinMan 10+ Gb/s backplane connector is now also available in 3- and 5-pair modules.

Tyco has created a series of product specific websites that allow users to quickly access detailed information. A new website navigation brochure assists in quickly sorting through the immense amount of data available on the Tyco Electronics’ website.

Additional suppliers, including Gore, LEONI, and Volex, exhibited examples of their high-speed I/O cables, including Infiniband, and Small Form Factor interfaces. Meritec and Cinch showed a variety of high-speed cable assemblies using manufacturing technology licensed from Meritec.

Some of these assemblies incorporate active equalization technologies from suppliers such as Quellan and Gennum, which can improve signal integrity in longer cables.

Once again, DesignCon 2009 proved to be a venue rich in new products and innovation.

Trends observed at DesignCon 2009 

1. Faster data rates, up to 40 Gb/s.

2. Greater packaging density, more ports in less panel space.

3. More packaging options. Filling gaps in product lines to more closely match specific application needs.

4. Power and thermal management have become basic connector selection considerations.

5. Active I/O cables can extend effective bandwidth and length of copper cables.

6. Expanding interest in mezzanine architecture.

7. New products are pushing the electrical and mechanical limitations of card edge connectors.

8. Increased use of product specific micro-websites that provide detailed support data in one place.

Robert Hult
Director of Product Technology, Bishop & Associates, Inc.
Robert Hult has been in the connector industry for more than 36 years. Hult began his career as a sales engineer for Amphenol. He joined AMP in 1972 and served in several management positions through 1996. In 1997, Hult joined Foxconn as group marketing manager for Intel in Chandler, Arizona, USA. Prior to joining Bishop & Associates, Hult was the regional application engineering manager for Tyco Electronics.

Hult graduated in 1968 from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics technology and a minor in business.