Connector with tuned channel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9312618-B2
Application number	US-201214237508-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2012
Priority date	Aug 8, 2011
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

A connector is provided that includes a housing and the housing supports a plurality of wafers. Each wafer supports a terminal and adjacent signal wafers are configured so as to provide broad-side coupled terminals. A pair of signal terminals can be surrounded on both sides by ground terminals that offer shielding so as to help isolate one signal pair from another signal pair. The geometry of the wafers can be adjusted so as to provide a tuned transmission channel. The resultant tuned transmission channel can be configured to provide desirable performance at high signaling frequencies of 12-16 GHz or even higher signaling frequencies such as 20 GHz.

First claim

We claim:

1. A connector, comprising:
a housing having a card slot;
a first and second signal wafer inserted into the housing, the first wafer having a first terminal supported by a first insulative frame and the second wafer having a second terminal supported by the insulative frame, the first and second terminal each having a tail, a contact and a body extending between the tail and the contact, the first and second terminals configured to provide a broad-side differentially coupled transmission channel that extends substantially through the insulative frames, where the differential coupling mode is in a horizontal arrangement from the contact portion through the body portion;
a third wafer positioned adjacent the first wafer, the third wafer having an insulative frame that supports a third terminal, the third terminal extending along the channel and substantially aligned with the first terminal;
a fourth wafer positioned adjacent the second wafer, the fourth wafer having an insulative frame that supports a fourth terminal, the fourth terminal extending along the channel and substantially aligned with the second terminal;
wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth terminal have a truss of the respective insulative frame that secures upper and lower edges of the terminal, the truss having a corresponding first and second side that provide a corresponding predefined thickness, the thickness defined by a slot on a first side and a slot or edge of the frame on a second side; and
a first and second terminal groove extending along both sides of the respective terminal of each of the third and fourth insulative frame, the first and second terminal groove defining an air channel on both sides of the third and fourth terminal, wherein coupling between the terminals of the first and third wafer is less than coupling between the terminals of the first and second wafer.

2. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the first insulative frame has a pair of second grooves extending along both sides of the first terminal and the second insulative frame has a pair of second grooves extending along both sides of the second terminal such that each of the terminals is exposed to air along the respective grooves and the adjacent grooves form an air channel that extends between adjacent terminals.

3. The connector of claim 2 , wherein the pair of second grooves on both sides of the first and second terminal are a first width and the pair of first grooves on both sides of the third and fourth terminal are a second width different than the first width.

4. The connector of claim 3 , wherein the first width is three quarters of the second width.

5. The connector of claim 1 , wherein each second groove is a first width, the first width being at least 0.15 mm.

6. The connector of claim 1 , wherein each truss that extends along the ground terminals and the signal terminals has a truss width, the truss width of the signal terminals being not less than the truss width of the ground terminals.

7. The connector of claim 6 , wherein the truss width of the signal terminals is greater than the truss width of the ground terminals.

8. A connector, comprising:
a housing with a mating side and a mounting side, the housing including a first and second card slot on a mating side, the first card slot being arranged above the second card slot in a vertical arrangement;
a first and second signal wafers inserted into the housing, the first wafer having a first and second terminal supported by a first insulative frame and the second wafer having a third and fourth terminal supported by a second insulative frame, the terminals each having a tail, a contact and a body extending between the tail and the contact, the first and third terminals configured to provide a broad-side differentially coupled upper channel that extends substantially through the insulative frames from the first card slot to the tails, the second and fourth terminals configured to provide a broad-side differentially coupled lower channel that extends substantially through the insulative frames from the second card slot to the tails, where the differential coupling mode is in a horizontal arrangement from the contact portion through the body portion; and
a first, second, third and fourth truss formed in the insulative frame, the first truss supporting the first terminal, the second truss supporting the second terminal, the third truss support the third terminal and the fourth truss supporting the fourth terminal, each truss securing upper and lower edges of the respective terminal, the first, second, third and fourth trusses being defined on both an upper and lower side by one of either a slot that extends through the insulative wafer and an edge of the respective insulative wafer.

9. The connector of claim 8 , wherein the first and second wafer are configured to be mated in the housing such that substantially no air gap exists between the first and second insulative housing along the second channel.

10. The connector of claim 9 , wherein the first and second wafer are configured such that a predetermined air gap exists between the first and second insulative housing along the first channel.

11. The connector of claim 8 , wherein each of the trusses have a terminal groove on each side of the terminal.

12. The connector of claim 11 , wherein the terminal grooves between two adjacent signal terminals have a first width and the terminal groves between adjacent signal and ground terminals has a second width, the first width being less than the second width.

13. A connector, comprising:
a first wafer with a first terminal;
a second wafer with a second terminal positioned adjacent the first wafer;
a third wafer with a third terminal positioned adjacent the second wafer;
a fourth wafer with a fourth terminal positioned adjacent the third wafer, wherein the first through fourth wafer are in series and the four terminals are each supported by a truss so as to provide a ground, signal, signal, ground tuned transmission channel configured to provide a dip in insertion loss of less than 0.2 dB between 0 and 12 GHz when tested in a simplified 25 mm long model using ANSYS HSFF software.

14. The connector of claim 13 , wherein the dip in insertion loss is less than 0.1 dB.

15. The connector of claim 13 , wherein the dip in insertion loss is less than 0.2 dB out between 0 and 20 GHz.

16. The connector of claim 15 , wherein the dip in insertion loss is less than 0.1 dB.

17. The connector of claim 15 wherein the dip in insertion loss is less than 0.05 dB.

18. The connector of claim 13 , further comprising a receptacle configured to provide suitable EMI shield for the desired signaling frequency of operation.

Assignees

• Regnier Kent E
• Casher Patrick R
• Molex Llc

Inventors

• Regnier Kent E
• Casher Patrick R

Classifications

• H01R9/2408 Primary

  Modular blocks (H01R9/26 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R13/6586 Primary

  for separating multiple connector modules · CPC title

• H01R12/724

  containing contact members forming a right angle · CPC title

• H01R12/71 Primary

  for rigid printing circuits or like structures · CPC title

• H01R13/6471

  by special arrangement of ground and signal conductors, e.g. GSGS [Ground-Signal-Ground-Signal] · CPC title