Kevin Burt of the Samtec Optical Group walks us through one of Samtec’s product demonstrations at OFC 2017. This demo features a disaggregated computing platform with PCIe® Gen 3 fabric enabled by the patented FireFly™ mid-board optical technology. This PCIe protocol is extended outside of a standard computer bus over a distance of 100 meters. Kevin also gives a quick primer on FireFly: it's a very high-density, future-proof cable assembly available in both copper … [Read more...]
Samtec Flyover Minimizes Signal Loss
Martin Rowe and our friends at EDN recently ran an article entitled "High-Speed Signals Jump Over PCB Traces." Martin begins by explaining that every time serial data rates increase, they expose problems masked at slower speeds. He goes on to summarize, "Many of those problems occur because of decreased signal integrity from losses that occur in PCB traces, vias, and connectors ... Boards used in servers and switches are often quite large and they typically have "out of the box" … [Read more...]
Samtec FireFly™ Power/Control Connector Proposal Adopted by COBO
The growth in high-speed serial channel data rates has no end in sight. 28 Gbps design starts abound across the industry. 56 Gbps PAM-4 solutions are coming down the road, whether silicon, interconnect or high-speed copper and optical cables. On the optical front, the front-panel optical modules are standardized across a never-ending number of MSAs. SFP. SFP+. QSFP. QSDP+. QSFP-DD. OSFP. The list goes on. Standardized On-Board Optical … [Read more...]
OFC 2017 – New Products, Announcements, and Demos from Samtec
OFC 2017, The Optical Networking and Communication Conference & Exhibition, is a global forum and exhibition for optical communications and networking possibilities. Samtec will showcase the latest FireFly™ Optical Cable Systems, including new PCIe® Over Fiber, extended temperature, and low-profile designs. We will also discuss how the Samtec FireFly™ connector was adopted by the Consortium for On Board Optics, and we will run four product demonstrations, among others. OFC … [Read more...]
QSFP-DD and FQSFP-DD: Not Your Brother’s Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable!
Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable (QSFP) has become the workhorse pluggable module form factor. Originally intended as the next step past SFP/SFP+, QSFP supports data rates at 10 Gbps per channel (40 Gbps aggregate) and 25 Gbps per channel (100 Gbps aggregate). The current QSFP solution meets the demands of the telecom/datacom industries, for now. As advanced ASIC and FPGA solutions hit the market, a next generation module that overcomes the limitations of QSFP needs to perform at 50 Gbps+ per … [Read more...]
Samtec Updates Silicon-to-Silicon Web Experience
Samtec released Silicon-to-Silicon™ System Optimization Microsite in early 2016. This one-stop shop summarizes all of Samtec’s Silicon-to-Silicon™ System Optimization capabilities. It provides engineers the service, products, tools and resources to optimize the entire signal chain of a system, from bare die to IC package and assembly, to PCB, connectors and cable assemblies, and back again. The updated and streamlined Silicon-to-Silicon™ System Optimization web experience is now … [Read more...]
DesignCon 2017 — Flyover QSFP28 For 56+ Gbps Applications
A product demonstration that drew a lot of attention at DesignCon 2017 showed how Samtec FQSFP Flyover™ interconnects are used in the Keysight Reference Solution RS506 Digital Interconnect Test System. The demo has the 32 port Keysight VNA coupled to PLTS measurement software. With this system, one measurement captures all 32 ports. In this video, Jim Nadolny, Samtec’s Principle SI and EMI Engineer, walks us through the demo. Jim explains how the high-speed signals are routed … [Read more...]
FireFly™ Mid-Board Optical Engines Gain Momentum in 2017
2017 brings increased attention to mid-board optical engines. Samtec's solution in this space - FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™ - continues to win over new customers in new applications. FireFly™ and other Samtec related optical products are some of the fastest growing product lines at Samtec. As both portfolios continue to expand, this opens additional applications for Samtec's FireFly™ and optical solutions. More specifically, ruggedized and extended temperature FireFly™ applications are … [Read more...]
Samtec Demos Flyover QSFP In Xilinx VCU118 Demonstration Board At DesignCon 2017
One of several demonstrations at DesignCon 2017 shows the variety of Samtec interconnects supporting the Xilinx® Virtex® UltraScale+ FPGA VCU118 Development Kit. Included in the kit is an FMC+ Active Loopback Card, which carries Samtec's direct attach Flyover™ QSFP28. In the Flyover QSFP28 demonstration, four GT 28 Gbps transceiver signals are generated by the FPGA and launched mid-board from the FireFly™ connector system. These 28 Gbps signals “flyover” the board … [Read more...]
Samtec Demonstrates PCIe® Over Fiber in Disaggregated Computing Applications
In this video, Kevin Burt of Samtec’s Optical Group explains one of Samtec’s product demonstrations at DesignCon 2017. The demo features a disaggregated computing platform with PCIe® Gen 3 fabric enabled by the patented FireFly™ mid-board optical technology. PCIe® Over Fiber PCIe® over Fiber technologies enable new and emerging HPC and Data Center architectures. Traditional systems place GPUs and system storage as close to the server and CPU as possible … [Read more...]