When mating two or more printed circuit boards (PCBs), what’s the easiest way to be certain you have a robust, reliable, secure PCB stacking connection? The answer is often to use a precision board stacking standoff, especially in high shock and vibration environments. Samtec’s SureWare™ ultra-rugged hardware family includes several varieties of board stacking standoffs, each with their own unique features and benefits. However, ALL are designed to work with Samtec high-speed, high-density … [Read more...]
It’s a Small World After All
"It's a small world" takes on a whole new meaning when we look into some future options of Small Form Factor (SFF) plug-in cards. These small but mighty powerhouses are at the forefront of innovation, driving compact yet robust solutions for modern computing needs. In this blog, we'll take a ride through some recently added features of SFF plug-in cards, specifically focusing on the VITA 90.2 standard used in the SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture) standards. It has been quite a spring and … [Read more...]
The War of Electronics
In the world of modern warfare, electronic warfare (EW) has emerged as a pivotal domain, enabling the manipulation of the electromagnetic spectrum for strategic advantage. At the heart of effective electronic warfare systems lies a critical yet often overlooked component: the interconnects. Samtec delivers Sudden Service® solutions that are engineered to meet the stringent quality, production, and compliance requirements of many standard and application-specific military and aerospace … [Read more...]
When 50 Ohms Isn’t Really 50 Ohms
Another possible title for this blog was "I Designed A 50 Ω Transmission Path; Why is My Return Loss or VSWR Higher Than Expected?" Another was "Maintaining 50 Ohms In A Channel Is Trickier Than It Looks." Hopefully, you understand the main point we're trying to make. This blog is a summary of a seminar by Samtec's Michael Griesi, presented at IMS 2023. For those of you who weren't able to attend, a video of the full presentation is above. In the meantime, here's an overview of what Michael … [Read more...]
Military & Aerospace Soars Higher with Powell & Samtec
Samtec recently worked with our friends at Powell Electronics on a little marketing piece. The goal is to showcase our partnership related to Defense and Aerospace specific products Samtec supplies. Working with another family-owned, US-based company allows us to understand some of the nuances associated with the defense and aerospace industries. Any way that we can continue to grow our presence in the marketplace helps not only Samtec but the industry as a whole. A US-based manufacturing, … [Read more...]
Microwave, mmWave Connector Systems Achieve Excellent Performance
At IMS 2023, Samtec had a booth full of cutting-edge product demonstrations and technologies. One of those featured a variety of microwave, mmWave connector systems which achieved excellent performance. Michael Griesi, RF Design and Simulation Engineering Manager at Samtec, walks us through the demonstrations and the results. A Keysight eight-port 53 GHz USB VNA transmits signals to the four mmWave RF systems. The Keysight device is a M9808A PXIe Vector Network Analyzer (100 kHz to 53 … [Read more...]
Validating the Performance of Miniature Array Connectors
Small, complex, and portable applications (in industries such as military/aerospace and medical) require miniaturized, reliable interconnects. As traditional surface-mount and through-hole interconnects reach their limits in terms of density and the number of signals that can effectively be used, many product designers are implementing high I/O array styles of interconnects. In a new white paper from Samtec, “Improved Solder Joint Integrity for High-Density Interconnect Applications,” the … [Read more...]
New Rugged/Power Guide
I recently stumbled upon the story of Stephanie Kwolek, a DuPont chemist who discovered the technology behind Kevlar® almost 60 years ago. This lightweight fiber is five times stronger than an equal weight of steel, withstands high heat and is resistant to harsh chemicals (kind of like Superman except for that whole kryptonite thing). Most notably, Kevlar is found in body armor and bulletproof vests used by police and the military. One could argue that the level of something’s ruggedness is … [Read more...]
IMS 2023: New Samtec Products, Technologies
The International Microwave Symposium (IMS) is a week dedicated to all things microwave and RF. Samtec is looking forward to presenting our newest microwave/millimeter wave connector products, and showcasing new technologies in live demonstrations. It's all at the Samtec booth (# 2627). Or, if you're not able to make it to the show, check out the preview below. New Samtec Microwave, mmWave Products Samtec is showcasing many new microwave/mmWave connector products in our booth. Among them … [Read more...]