Edge Rate® is one of Samtec's most popular high-speed, high-bandwidth interconnect systems. Edge Rate is both the name of the pin and in this case, it’s also a product family. Edge Rate Contact Design Let’s begin with the contact system because that’s the star of the show. With some connectors, the mating edge of the contact is the cut edge of the pin. If you look at the edge under a microscope you may see micro burrs and edges. This reduces the life of the connector because … [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 Linear Direct Drive At 112 Gbps PAM4
Straight from DesignCon 2023, Kevin Burt, Samtec's Director of Happiness, walks us through a proof-of-concept for an on-package, or near-package, linear direct drive electrical channel that gives us a 100-meter link at 112 Gbps. These links could be used in mid-board optical and copper designs using Samtec Flyover® cable assemblies or high-speed mezzanine connector sets, as well as for full-channel front-panel and back-panel cable applications. A Multilane Pattern Generator generates a 112 … [Read more...]
PCIe 6.0 Data Routed From New Chip-Adjacent Connector To Front Panel
PCIe 6.0, optics, 112 Gbps PAM4, linear direct drives, PCIe over fiber. Samtec displayed a variety of live product demonstrations - both optical and copper - at OFC 2023. Two demos, both in tandem with our partner Cadence, received much attention. Both demonstrated cutting-edge data rates, one at 112 Gbps PAM4, and the other is 64 GT/s, PCIe 6.0 data rates. And both show excellent signal integrity performance from our Samtec Flyover® High-Speed cable systems. This blog and video … [Read more...]
Improve Power Integrity and Signal Integrity With New Interconnects
A new connector system improves signal integrity by improving power integrity. Optimizing power integrity provides greater signal integrity margin and improves power and thermal efficiency. The design of a high-speed connector system's breakout region, or BOR, impacts signal integrity. The BOR of a power connector also impacts signal integrity. How do we create a BOR that minimizes parasitic inductance? PI + SI: A New Connector In this video from DesignCon 2023, Alex Wroten, … [Read more...]
Back to School 2022
Summer is winding down and many students are headed back to school. Is your social media feed blowing up with all the back-to-school pictures? This time of year may be a bit emotional for some and may cause your eyes to tear up a bit. Here are a few reasons I have seen; Sending off your own kids for the first time.Your kids have outgrown those back-to-school pictures, or are headed away for college. When looking at some of the outfits you see kids wearing to school these days.Your home … [Read more...]
Do You Want to Go Fast?
With the global headquarters of Samtec in Southern Indiana, we are surrounded by people wanting to go Fast! A few weeks ago we watched horses go fast in the 148th Kentucky Derby. This past weekend we watched Indy Cars go fast during the 106th Indianapolis 500. A driver or jocky's decision-making and reaction time made me think of delays or latency when it comes to the interconnect market. High-speed connectors are a sweet spot for Samtec and if you are unfamiliar with some of our offerings … [Read more...]
Samtec, Penn State Harrisburg Collaborate in STEM and SI/PI Education
WE ARE!... I'm sure you know how the chant goes. My alma mater, Penn State Harrisburg, and my current company Samtec have a long history of technical collaboration. The PSU Harrisburg School of Science, Engineering and Technology has been a leader in STEM education - in particular, signal integrity and power integrity. Samtec continues to expand our technical capabilities, as there is an insatiable need for engineering talent. What are some if the details of the Samtec/PSU Harrisburg … [Read more...]
Samtec Launches New SI/PI Capabilities and Resource Landing Page
Once upon a time . . . I really don't like starting a blog out that way, but in this case, it applies. Bear with me. Like most undergrad Electrical Engineering students, I took "Introduction to Electromagnetics" my junior year. I thought it would straight forward due to previous exposure in Physics. Boy, was I wrong! No matter how hard I tried, I made no sense of some dude named Maxwell and upside-down triangles. I dropped the class in the fall semester and took it in the summer with … [Read more...]
Samtec SI/PI Capabilities Simplify Design and Accelerate Time-To-Market
Signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI) concepts confuse many seasoned engineers. Yet, they are both essential to modern, high-performance system architectures and system design. Designing for High-Speed "It's all about the signal channel!" That's it. That's the short and simple secret to SI. As an electrical engineer, PCB design or SI specialist, routing a signal from point A (say the transmitter) to point B (say a receiver) with as little attenuation as possible is the design … [Read more...]