Floating hybrid connector provides fast transmission speed

Featuring a high-speed transmission capability of up to 8Gbps and a highly-reliable floating contact mechanism that simplifies assembly, a new hybrid power and signal board-to-board connector has been developed by Hirose. The connector is designed for a wide range of high-speed applications including medical devices, office imaging equipment, measurement equipment, industrial computer systems, automotive navigation and audio systems, broadcast equipment, base station transceivers, industrial machinery and more. A member of Hirose's FunctionMAX family of high-speed board-to-board connectors, the new 0.5mm pitch FX23 Series connector supports high-speed applications with a specialized contact structure that utilizes a ground contact between adjacent differential pairs to reduce crosstalk. In addition, this contact structure provides superior impedance matching, even with short rise times. The connector's floating design offers a degree of play between the contacts during mating, allowing the board-to-board connector to absorb alignment errors up to ± 0.6mm in X and Y axis directions. By self-centring in both the X and Y directions, the floating structure eliminates mechanical stress at the SMT leads. This novel floating contact structure is particularly convenient when mating multiple connectors on the same printed circuit board, saving significant assembly time and costs. The hybrid power and signal connector has two built-in power contacts located on each side of the FX23 Series connector housing that provide a power rating of 3A per pin. The hybrid structure also reduces the number of pins required, saving space. Available in right angle and parallel versions, the FX23 Series is offered in 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 positions. "The FX23 Series' floating feature ensures correct and safe mating, reduces the stress on mounted parts, decreases solder cracking, and enhances reliability," said Rick van Weezel, vice-president, sales and marketing, Hirose Electric USA. "Combining this feature with high transmission rates provides a highly functional solution for demanding applications." The FX23 Series connector uses a single metal post that allows mounting to the top and bottom sides of the PCB, as standard double metal posts interfere with mounting on both sides. Pin-in-hole intrusive reflow can be applied and reduces the manual soldering process of the metal posts. In addition, the FX23 Series can accept coating agents.