What are Mezzanine Connectors?
Meet the Connector: Mezzanine Connectors
As electronic equipment became more complex in the 2000s, mezzanine connectors were developed in response to the increasing demand for space on PCBs. These high-speed, board-to-board connectors connect two parallel PCBs in a stacking configuration. Many of these are defined in an industry standard such as the PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) which is a 1.0 mm pitch, 64-pin connector described by IEEE 1386.
Originally designed for rack and panel systems, mezzanine connectors are now used in a variety of applications, including mobile phones, embedded computers, industrial control, and medical devices.
Samtec’s SEARAY™ products offer high speed, high density open-pin-field arrays. They support 56 Gb/s PAM4 applications and are also Final Inch® certified for Break Out Region trace routing recommendations to save designers time and money.
Stacking boards is a way to expand available PCB real estate, increase the density of the product packaging as well as provide modular expansion capability. Mezzanine architecture is often used in I/O host adapter or expansion memory card applications. A processor chip mounted on a small mezzanine card can be easily changed to upgrade or add functions to existing equipment. They can support fine pitch, high pin count applications while maintaining an exceptionally low profile.
Harwin’s Archer series of compact mezzanine connectors includes .8 and .5 mm pitch sizes designed for applications with limited space, such as compact control and monitoring equipment, embedded computing, sensor modules, camera/Lidar units, and IoT connected devices.
Mezzanine connectors have been optimized for high-speed applications as the extremely short circuit path length minimizes attenuation and crosstalk. Some of these connectors feature an integrated ground plane and are designed for differential pair transmission. Other mezzanine connectors are hybrid configurations that include a mix of power, low speed, and high-speed signal contacts.
TE Connectivity’s connector portfolio includes free height, fine stack, and fine mate connectors that provide various flexible stacking solutions for mezzanine (vertical, parallel stacking board-to-board) connections, as well as many centerline, stack height, and application options.
When specifying mezzanine connectors, the key factors of circuit speed, stack height (the distance between the connected PCBs), pin count, current and voltage ratings, and rated number of mating cycles must be must be considered.
Markets, Sectors, Applications
Primarily datacom, telecom, and industrial applications, but also medical and consumer electronics, and in some cases, automotive, military, and aerospace applications.
Greenconn’s High-Speed Connector features a 1.27mm / 0.05″ pitch, 4 Gb/s performance, and is available in various configurations.
Suppliers Mezzanine connectors are available from many connector suppliers, including Advanced Interconnections, AirBorn, Amphenol Communications Solutions, Cinch Connectivity Solutions, ept, Greenconn, HARTING, Harwin, Hirose Electric, JAE, Molex, NorComp, Phoenix Contact, Samtec Inc., Smiths Interconnect, TE Connectivity, and others.
Related Products
Board-to-board connectors
Edge card connectors
Visit the Preferred Supplier pages of the companies included in this article: Advanced Interconnections, AirBorn, Amphenol Communications Solutions, Cinch Connectivity Solutions, ept, Greenconn, HARTING, Harwin, Hirose Electric, JAE, Molex, NorComp, Phoenix Contact, Samtec Inc., Smiths Interconnect, and TE Connectivity.
Like this article? Check out our other board-to-board, and high-speed articles, our Datacom & Telecom and Industrial Market Pages, and our 2022 Article Archive.
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