As the key part of the whole interconnection system, connector has become the bottleneck to improve the transmission rate of the system. Therefore, the development of connector to meet the high-speed transmission performance is the main means to improve the high-speed interconnection performance of the system, and is also the key factor to solve the problem of high-speed interconnection of information systems.
In the early 1990s, high-speed connectors for connecting and transmitting high-speed digital signals began to develop with the strong impetus of information technology. At present, the transmission rate of foreign high-speed connectors has reached 10Gbps, and is developing towards 40Gbps.
As early as 2005, FCI, a world-renowned connector manufacturer, cooperated with Lucent Bell Laboratories to successfully realize signal transmission at a transmission rate of up to 25Gbps using FCI's high-speed connector AirMaxVS and Bell Laboratories'signal transmission architecture, thus improving the performance of high-speed connectors again.
Promoted by information equipment technology, digital information equipment in communication, railway transportation, astronautics, medical equipment, high-end weapons and other fields will put forward higher requirements for the performance of high-speed connector products, such as high density, modularization, high reliability, multi-function and so on, to meet the modularization and collection of system transmission. Various application requirements such as forming, environment resistance, anti-interference and so on.
In the past, mechanical properties, such as insertion and pull force and foot smoothness, were the most important factors in the development of electrical connectors. Next, consider the electrical characteristics of connectors, such as insulation resistance, rated current, contact resistance, etc. However, with the advent of the era of high-speed communication, the performance of the electrical connector is more demanding, and the transmission line effect caused by its high-speed transmission can not be ignored. Solving the problem of signal integrity of the high-speed connector has become a key factor in connector design.
Research status at home and abroad
At present, connectors have become the second pillar industry of electronic components. According to the latest data from Bishop & Associates, the authoritative research institute of connectors, sales of connectors in China reached 13.6 billion US dollars in 2013, accounting for 24% of the global market share.
China has become the largest sales market for connectors. The development and application of high-speed connectors began in the developed countries in Europe and America. With the advantages of technology and scale, large-scale connector manufacturers, led by Moss, Tyco, FCI, etc., have been mastering the cutting-edge technology of connector manufacturing industry, especially the high demand for solution. Large international companies have obvious advantages in communication and military applications with transmission speed, environmental resistance, high reliability, low crosstalk and low noise, and the level of profitability of connector products in this field is relatively high.
As customers demand higher transmission speed, foreign connector suppliers, on the basis of their original products, continue to adopt new design techniques and processes to optimize their products, such as the use of soft interference connection circuit board technology (circuit board holes can be made smaller); with custom-made plastic to compensate for signal tilt push Recommended in circuit board reaming and so on. To meet system performance and reliability requirements, the system designer carefully balances the relationship between transmission speed, power, and package density.
The development of semiconductor technology has prompted connector manufacturers to design and develop products with higher speed. The market for backplane connectors has undergone an era of explosive growth in the new century, and these connectors are geared to meet the competition of the next generation of applications. There's a major vendor in this area: Amphenol TCS, FCI, Molex, Tyco, which all supply 25Gbps of connectors.
There are few mass-produced areas that require such high transmission speeds, but this high-performance connector gives future system updates space and is attractive to system designers.
The high-speed backplane connector is a key part of the new system hardware. Once it is selected in the early stage of the system design, it may not be replaced by another connector. Because the working frequency of 10Gbps, if the connector's internal structure is different, the transmission performance will be very different.
In view of this, foreign equipment manufacturers and their main connector suppliers have reached an agreement to require the connector suppliers to share the design and production of intellectual property rights, design and production with sufficient consistency to ensure interface interchangeability and high-speed transmission compatibility. This practice of rewarding connector technology among connector suppliers is rare in history, creating a historical precedent and is likely to be the development trend of connector industry in the future. The development of materials and product structure technology broadens the bandwidth of cable assemblies and improves the transmission speed of cable assemblies. Using passive and active signal conditioning technology, copper cables can provide superior performance-price ratio of up to 24 m at speeds higher than 10 Gbps.