A working demonstration of the Apollo communication system -- the original Apollo S-Band communication hardware that was used in the Apollo moon missions in the 1960s and early 1970s -- was on display at DesignCon 2023. Marc Verdiell, CTO of the Samtec Optical Group, walks us through the setup. Marc is part of a team that is restoring this Apollo communication equipment to its original functional state. All equipment is on loan from private collections. The system operated at 2.1 GHz and … [Read more...]
Why Did PCIe 6.0 Adopt PAM4? There Are Many Reasons.
Samtec is a proud member of the PCI-SIG® community, and we have been for many years. In conjunction with our friends at PCI-SIG, Jignesh Shah, Senior System Architect at Samtec, discusses PAM4 encoding, which is a new feature of the PCIe® 6.0 specification. New: The PCIe® 6.0 Specification In early 2022, PCI-SIG® released the full version of the PCI Express® (PCIe®) 6.0 specification. As with previous versions, the latest version doubles the data rate of the PCIe 5.0 specification and … [Read more...]
How Does Solder Reflow Affect RF Connectors?
Solder reflow plays an important role in the success and performance of high-bandwidth RF connectors. Sometimes, when a high-bandwidth RF connector is soldered together with an optimized PCB launch, the results can be unpredictable. It is important to investigate the root causes of solder reflow variation and analyze what techniques can deliver consistent performance across frequencies. In a new white paper from Samtec, “Impacts of Solder Reflow on High Bandwidth RF Connectors,” authors … [Read more...]
From Elon Musk to ISS – LEO Satellites Fly Over our Heads
Elon Musk is in the news again. But when is Elon Musk not in the news? Of course, many people have an opinion about his purchase of Twitter. More importantly, Mr. Musk is revolutionizing internet access and soon future mobile phone access with LEO satellites. Starlink is a constellation of satellites providing internet access (and eventually mobile phone service) to ~40 countries. Starlink has been in the news for its reach into Ukraine and potentially even Iran. Via SpaceX, currently … [Read more...]
Free Wideband RF Launches White Paper
Samtec recently published a major white paper, “Wideband RF Launches: Much More Than Footprints On PCBs.” This white paper shows that very wide bandwidth RF launches are possible to implement in PCBs, even with vias included. This does not mean it is a trivial task. Competing requirements, be they electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, or cost, must be considered and balanced simultaneously. This white paper -- a link to it is at the end of this blog -- elaborates on some of … [Read more...]
Samtec SI Technologists to Present at EDI CON Online 2022
"I'm lovin' it." "Can you hear me now?" "Just do it." "Where High Frequency Meets High Speed" The first three taglines are a part of pop culture lexicon. The last describes an annual technology event - EDICON Online 2022 - focused on training and informing engineers on that latest high-performance technologies, solutions, trends and design techniques. The world of high-frequency and high-speed is converging as never before. Real-world and modeled 224 Gbps PAMx system design … [Read more...]
Maximizing RF Launch Performance: The Impact Of GND Vias
(This is the third in a series of blogs, from Sandeep Sankararaman, Samtec’s Principal RF and Signal Integrity Engineer, discussing design strategies for high-bandwidth RF launches. The first is entitled “What Is An RF Connector Launch?” The second is "Via Stubs: Practical Strategies To Mitigate Return Loss.") A wide bandwidth RF launch requires a good ground ring structure around the signal via to maintain the impedance while the signal travels down the via. Figure 1 shows the ground ring … [Read more...]
Via Stubs: Practical Strategies To Mitigate Return Loss
(This is the second in a series of blogs, from Sandeep Sankararaman, Samtec’s Principal RF and Signal Integrity Engineer, discussing design strategies for high-bandwidth RF launches. The first is entitled "What Is An RF Connector Launch?" The third is "Maximizing RF Launch Performance: The Impact of GND Vias." coming next week, discusses GND rings.) When using a through via to transition to an internal layer, there is a stub created by the part of the via that extends below the transition … [Read more...]
Crosstalk Measurement and Characterization in High-Speed Interconnect
"High-speed applications" means different things to different people. In automotive infotainment, a high speed may be 5-10 Gbps. For sensing applications, high speed may be one sample a second. In the data center, hosted data rates are 112 Gbps PAM4 with 224 Gbps coming soon. However "high speed" is defined, signal integrity becomes more essential for system optimization. At high frequencies, crosstalk becomes a challenge. High-speed differential pairs routed in close proximity affect each … [Read more...]
Wideband RF Launches: Literally, Everything You Need To Know
As the demand for higher frequencies and wider bandwidths continue their relentless march upward, RF connectors need to keep up and even exceed this demand. Mating the RF connector to a PCB or substrate requires careful consideration of several factors to get the full performance out of the connector. Let’s frame this concept by starting with a simple analogy: Putting tractor tires on a race car is not a recipe for success. Tires on a race car need to convert power from the engine … [Read more...]
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