As system speeds increase to multi-gigabit levels and beyond, ensuring signal integrity in high-speed channels requires major backplane connector performance upgrades.   Backplane architecture has served the electronics industry well for many years. Circuitry embedded in up to 40 layers of the backplane can create custom point-to-point, broad parallel bus structures or full mesh networks, essentiallyRead More

Pure tin plating has been almost universally adopted, but the looming expiration of a critical exemption is poised to bite manufacturers of screw machined contacts. Bob Hult examines the continuing impact of RoHS. Just when you thought the connector industry had bit the bullet and removed all lead from its products, the looming expiration ofRead More

One solution to the signal integrity and reach issues in copper cabling is the use of active copper cable assemblies. Bob Hult takes a look at today’s technology and where it could lead the industry.   The long predicted demise of high-speed copper cables continues to be delayed/frustrated by continuing improvements in the technology of data transmission.Read More

TE recently announced the intent to form a new MSA to create a standard for a new pluggable form factor that will deliver four duplex channels at 25Gb/s NRZ per channel.   The race to ever-faster I/O interfaces continues to heat up. Design engineers are looking for ways to avoid a data bottleneck at the I/O panelRead More

DesignCon celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, and Bob Hult was there to report on the newest developments in high-speed connector technology.   DesignCon 2015 celebrated its 20th anniversary as the premier showcase for high-speed chip, connector, and PCB board technology. More than 170 technical sessions organized in 14 conference tracks and three keynote addresses provided attendees with the latestRead More

Technology disrupters or paradigm shifts often pose serious threats to existing technology, but also open entirely new opportunities to those that recognize and espouse them. Bob Hult examines the drivers and the results when wireless connectivity cuts the cord.   Progress in just about every field of human endeavor tends to advance at a measuredRead More

The connector industry grew in 2014, and that was a result of both evolving product lines and cutting-edge technology. Here, Bob Hult looks back at the year’s trends and products in the annual 2014 Connector Technology Review. Shrinking the size of electronic devices has always been a given in the world of electronic equipment. TheRead More

With praise for the lowly modular plug, Bob Hult examines how its elegant design, simplicity of termination, mechanical ruggedness, excellent electrical characteristics, and compact size make it a keeper even after all these years. In a world where many products are calibrated to fail days after the warranty period ends, it is nice to see a device thatRead More

It makes little difference what a computer’s computational capability may be if the I/O port is unable to keep up with the processor. Bob Hult looks at developments in high-speed I/O applications, and warns system designers to beware the I/O bottleneck. Similar to a crowded freeway, the throughput of any system is limited by its tightest constriction:Read More

In this issue, Bob Hult examines the power conundrum: How to design electronic products that require either very high or very low levels of power.   It seems like every day we hear about how the demand for power continues to soar along with a list of potential solutions: The generation of electrical power withRead More

Bishop & Associates’ Bob Hult offers a plea to engineers, praising all they’ve achieved but requesting a bit of restraint. I recently attended the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, where some of the most sophisticated high-tech equipment and manufacturing processes were on display. I am in awe at our ability to track swarms of space debris asRead More

Converting an electrical signal to optic pulses has been a costly option that consumes too much PCB space and power. That’s changing now, as mid-board optical transceivers light up the datacom market. Demand for faster internal and external system interconnects has begun to push the limits of copper, especially in lengths of more than a fewRead More