The real advantages of solid-state lighting are realized when lamp designers shake off limitations imposed by traditional lamps and take advantage of the low power, low heat, and low profiles of LED light sources, as LED arrays light the way. Alternatives to the incandescent lightbulb have come a long way over the past 10 years. DemandRead More
Optical connectivity now offers I/O options, such as Molex’s optical interfaces designed to support up to 400Gb/s. /Demand for higher port density and bandwidth has stimulated the introduction of high-performance optical I/O connectors that support up to 400Gb/s links. Manufacturers such as Avago Technologies, FCI Electronics, Samtec, and TE Connectivity offer a variety of opticalRead More
Expanded packaging and performance options make power connectors surge. Power connectors once occupied just a tiny niche of the total separable interface market, but they are now on a rapid growth curve as many new power connectors that offer expanded packaging and performance options come into the market. In the world of pluggable electronic interconnects,Read More
The VITA specifications enable the embedded computer industry to support military, avionic, space, instrumentation, semiconductor processing, medical imaging, and industrial control applications. The way industry standards are often viewed by the engineering community has been the source of jokes for many years: How many engineers does it take to change a light bulb? None, they simplyRead More
Bob Hult reports on the connector technology highlights from DesignCon, especially the race to 100+Gb/s. The DesignCon 2014 conference and expo once again demonstrated the event’s value as the premier showcase for high-speed chip, connector, and PCB board technology. Featuring a full schedule of well-attended technical sessions over four days, a sense of excitement andRead More
2013 Product/Technology Trends The trends that have driven the electronics industry for the past five years continued to evolve in 2013. Many of the new connectors introduced during the year reflect the density and performance demands of applications that consume less space, operate at higher speeds, weigh less in mobile products, and may contribute toRead More
November 2013 – First, it was handbags and watches. Now counterfeiters are targeting electronic components, including ICs, relays, circuit breakers, fuses, ground fault receptacles, and cable assemblies, as well as connectors. These fakes could cause serious problems in today’s high-stakes electronics devices.
September 2013 – Manufacturers have slowly adopted new methods of connector termination only after years of process verification providing designerswith multiple options that feature cost-effective manufacturabilty as well as a high degree of long-term reliability.
The pin-and-socket interface is probably one of the oldest and most reliable contact designs, and it remains the contact of choice in many connectors today.
LED Light Governments, energy producers, and environmentalists around the world have been on a mission to kill the incandescent light bulb. A very small percentage of the energy these lamps consume is actually converted into visible light; the majority ends up generating wasteful heat. The emergence of more efficient alternatives means obsolescence appears to be inevitableRead More
Mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, are a disruptive technology that is shaking up the norms of system architecture. Traditional methods of introducing power and managing I/O are undergoing changes that have major implications for traditional connectors.
April 2, 2013 – The laws of physics begin to intervene as data rates increase, and signal integrity deteriorates when frequencies reach into the multi-gigabit range. The degree of high-speed signal distortion becomes significantly greater as channel lengths become longer. Reducing the physical distance between daughtercards becomes a priority. Bob Hult looks at some of the latest solutions developed to connect cable backplanes.
