Top 10 Industry Trends

Trend #6: Miniaturization
Vacuum tube technology ushered in the electronic age, but those glowing tubes consumed a huge amount of space and power. The race to reduce began early: In 1947, the invention of the transistor set off the continuous evolution of electronic devices that offer greater functionality in smaller packages.

In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted the exponential increase in the number of transistors that could be economically fabricated on an integrated circuit. Now, over 40 years later, the doubling of transistors approximately every two years continues to be a key benchmark for the semiconductor industry. A single gate per chip has evolved into integrated circuits and microprocessors sporting several hundred million gates per device.

The quest for greater semiconductor density continues as the industry develops silicon process technology, which has evolved from 90 nanometer to 60 nanometer features, with the most advanced devices now utilizing 45 nanometer technology. Bringing computing power into such tiny packages has enabled the advent of multicore processors and gigabit flash memory. Single-board computers are now embedded into a wide variety of equipment types. The functions of a daughtercard are now available on a single chip, while system-on-a-chip technology has become reality.

The result has been a dramatic increase in system speed, memory capacity, and processing power. Products have become more useful and consume much less space. What was once a room-sized commercial machine selling for millions of dollars has become a portable consumer device available at your local discount store. The convergence of computing, communications, and entertainment has resulted in products, such as the new iPhone, that were once the domain of science fiction.



Impact on the Connector Industry
The shrinking of electronic systems has impacted every component in the product, including connectors. Connector centerlines have gradually migrated from 0.31” X 0.62” posts on 0.156” centers to .025²” posts on 0.10” centers, to today’s flex circuit connectors that feature contacts on 0.3mm. Connectors with reduced centerlines not only enable smaller devices, but also can provide many more circuits per cubic millimeter.

The current generation of microprocessors feature over 1200 contacts, a number that would be impossible to interconnect without high-density 1.1mm zero insertion force land grid array sockets. Active elements on a chip, that are physically closer to each other, facilitate faster processing speeds and are driving the demand for even denser packaging.

Connector termination methods have also evolved to address greater contact density. Through-hole wave-soldered contacts are changing to surface mount attachment. Many connectors today are offered in through-hole, compliant pin, and surface mount configurations. For instance, high-density mezzanine connectors are attached to the printed circuit board using ball grid arrays.


 

Backplane connectors that typically featured open pin-field contact grids on 2mm² are giving way to high-speed/high-density interconnects that often feature integrated ground planes between differential pair contacts on centerlines of 1.5mm and less. Recently released high-speed backplane connectors, from FCI Electronics and Tyco Electronics, feature exceptional density. The Tyco Z-Pack Slim UHD™ connector offers density of up to 55 pins/cm², while the ZipLine™ connector from FCI provides up to 101 signal pairs per linear inch of daughtercard PCB edge.

Decreasing contact centerline spacing also allows designers to reduce the spacing between adjacent daughtercards in a rack, making room for more cards or reducing the size of the product. Lower profile connectors can assist in managing heat buildup within the system by creating less obstruction to cooling airflow.

The ability to utilize available space between daughtercards makes mezzanine card architecture very attractive. Exceptionally low-profile stacking connectors allow parallel boards to be connected with as little as 1mm stacking heights.

Portable entertainment, as well as data storage products, must be small and lightweight, which often leaves little surface space available for I/O connectors.

The standard RS-232 connector has been almost entirely replaced by much smaller connectors, such as standard, mini, and micro Universal Serial Bus interfaces.

Consumer entertainment equipment is becoming increasing sophisticated, with high-definition TVs and surround sound systems. User frustration in trying to interconnect each of the components in a home theatre has resulted in interfaces such as the HDMI connector, which offers reduced size and increased bandwidth.







 Internal disk drive connectors have quickly evolved from the parallel ATA 40-conductor wide ribbon connector format to the 7-pin Serial ATA assembly, which offers greater bandwidth in a smaller cable and is easier to install and does not obstruct airflow. 









Some of the smallest connectors can be found in flex circuit and cable assembly interconnects. Surface-mounted connectors now on the market offer exceptionally low profiles of 0.7mm.










The Future        
The trend to even greater circuit density will continue to put pressure on interconnect systems. Traditional metallic stamped-and-formed contacts in molded plastic housings may be reaching their practical limits. Elimination of lead from contact plating, as required by a host of recent environmental mandates, has elevated the problem of short circuits caused by the formation of tin whiskers on small centerline tin-plated contacts. Alternative interconnect technologies, such as conductive polymers, metalized particles, or flex-film-based connector systems, may allow smaller contact centerlines, but each brings its own set of challenges.

New connector structures fabricated using emerging nanotechnology may provide the path to next-generation high-density interconnect systems. Connectors using nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, may offer high conductivity interfaces on micrometer centerlines.

Miniaturization of electronic products has been a characteristic of the industry since its inception and will continue to stimulate the connector industry to develop smaller, more efficient, separable interfaces in the future.