Santa Clara, CA. Molex at DesignCon highlighted products that meet growing demand for increased network bandwidth and advanced technology. The company exhibited multiple connector sizes and shapes that support a wide range of data rates.
In one demonstration incorporating Tektronix test equipment, the company highlighted the NeoPress high-speed mezzanine system operating at 28 Gb/s. Unlike permanently affixed SMT connectors, which make it nearly impossible to reuse boards if an SMT termination fails, the mezzanine approach allows a board to be reworked, the company said, adding that the NeoPress system minimizes near-end and far-end crosstalk, matching the signal-integrity performance of the company’s NeoScale SMT connectors.
A patent-pending modular triad wafer design includes high-speed differential pairs that can be tuned to 85- to 100-Ω impedances, creating a flexible, customizable system. System options include four triad configurations, high-speed single-ended traces, and low-speed single-ended lines and power contacts. These options allow PCB designers to conserve PCB real estate by supporting low- and high-speed signals and power requirements with one compact connector.
The system is suitable for high-density telecommunications and networking devices, such as hubs, servers, NAS towers, and rack-mount servers. It can also be used in industrial automation and medical applications.
In addition, Molex and Credo Semiconductor demonstrated error-free 50-Gb/s NRZ and 50-Gb/s PAM-4 live serial traffic over high-speed copper cable on the zQSFP form factor. Credo supplied transmitting and receiving electronics. Molex provided a zQSFP+ cable assembly and a zQSFP+ SMT connector interface.
Molex also demonstrated the Impel backplane technology operating in compliance to OIF CEI-56G-LR, on various channel lengths using Megtron 6 material and Avago Technologies’ PAM-4 test silicon. The live demonstration will provide critical channel output through a complete high-speed link, leveraging Avago’s PAM-4 SerDes technology to transmit 56-Gb/s PAM-4 data through Molex’s Impel/Impel Plus copper backplane solution.
And finally, Molex demonstrated the latest stacked zQSFP+TM connector thermal-management technologies. Featured solutions included the zQSFP+ Thru-Flow and Internal Riding Heat Sink (IRHS).
