InfiniBand Connector Assemblies Achieve Under 1% Crosstalk

Jan. 19, 2004

Featuring less than 1% nearest-neighbor crosstalk, a new line of Direct Attach cable connector assemblies from Meritec supports InfiniBand and other high-speed data-transfer protocols like 10-Gbit Fibre Channel, Serial ATA 2, and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS). Meritec customer atSpeed Technologies reported measuring multiline near-end crosstalk, using a 5-meter cable assembly, of less than 2% at 100 ps. InfiniBand transmission standards well beyond 8 Gbits/s were easily met as well.

The connectors come in 12× straight, 4× straight, and 4× angled configurations, with 24-26 AWG wire sizes. Among the features are 100 (omega) of differential impedance, 3-dB bandwidth of 8 GHz, less than 0.125 unit intervals (UIs) of jitter, and a minimum eye-pattern opening of 350 ps wide and 500 mV high. They're rated for 250 cycles of durability, 6.6 lb of insertion force, 3.3 lb of withdrawal force, and 16.9 lb of retention force. The minimum bending radius is 2 in. (at a 90° bend). Operating temperature ranges from −10°C to 60°C. Connectors are available in fully shielded eight and 24 differential shield pair versions.

Other features include UL94V-0 thermoplastic housings, a copper-alloy (with gold) contact mating area, and a copper alloy contact bonding area. The back shell is made of die-cast zinc. Thermoplastic and copper alloy latching mechanisms are incorporated.

Price for a 1-meter assembly is expected to be $75 each in 1000-piece lots. Production is slated for the late second quarter.

Meritecwww.meritec.com

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About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.