I’ve been reading year-end and upcoming year lists about the future trends affecting technology and electronics. Topics run the gamut from expanding technologies like 5G, AI, electric vehicles, and various realities (XR, VR, MR), to external pressures like increased government regulation and tech nationalism.
Just about every list mentioned the ever-increasing need for bandwidth to accommodate cloud computing services, video conferencing, video streaming, e-commerce, etc.
While these demands affect tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, but they impact many suppliers in the electronics food chain, including connector manufacturers.
Samtec is ahead of the curve when it comes to providing connectors and services to optimize signal integrity. This includes board-to-board and cable-to-board systems, as well as RF connectors and cable assemblies.
Microwave Journal recently interviewed Steve McGeary and Mike Dunne, two Directors of our Precision RF business, about these trends. At the end of this blog there’s a link to the complete article, but here’s a quick summary of the key points presented as they relate to the future.
Mr. McGeary mentioned that the major trends in the RF, microwave and high-speed markets are faster speeds and higher densities, requiring greater frequency and smaller form factors. Samtec’s Precision RF product roadmap addresses these demands by focusing primarily on 40 to 110 GHz products (for example, 2.92, 2.40, 1.85, 1.35 and 1.00 mm interface types) and ganged board-to-board and blind-mate connectors and cable assemblies.
Mr. Dunne pointed out that Samtec was involved early with silicon testing when we introduced the Bulls Eye® high performance test assembly system. Bulls Eye improves the methodology of testing by bringing the test head closer to the device under test. We started with 14 Gbps testing, with customers like Xilinx and Intel. Since then, we have seen an exponential ramp in speed from 28 to 56 Gbps — now to 112 and moving quickly to 224 Gbps. This has allowed us to continue to develop test assemblies out to 70 GHz. A >90 GHz solution is currently in development.
They point out that we are also developing more ganged high-frequency connector blocks. This includes adding various configurations of SMPM blocks and cable assemblies to our product line, while paying special attention to the phased array antenna market and 5G board-to-board and cable-to-board applications.
Frequency demand is increasing rapidly. To that end we are expanding our family of compression mounts and cable connectors to support the growing needs in the test and measurement environment.
The article covers many more topics, trends, products and applications, but I said I would be brief, so I’ll stop there. Here’s a link to the Executive Interview article In Microwave Journal if you want to read it in its entirety.
And here’s a few other blogs that might interest you:
- Precision RF Product Overview
- The Challenges of a High-Speed RF Launch Design
- New and Coming Soon Precision RF Products
- Precision RF Guide
Contact the RF Group if you want to learn more.
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