Twinax Cable Assemblies Product Roundup 

This week’s Product Roundup highlights Twinax cables from leading connector manufacturers and suppliers.

Twinax cables

Avnet supplies 3M Twin Axial PCIe extender assemblies for PCIe 4.0 applications. This family of cable assemblies includes X8 and X16 connectors utilizing 3M Low Loss Twin Axial Cable 85 ohm, 31 AWG, which is ideal for PCIe applications. With their extremely tight bend radius and thin ribbon construction, this family of next-generation twin axial cable assemblies allows for easy routing in even the densest server or rack configurations. They are designed for scalability and tight bends without compromising signal integrity performance.

Twinax RF connectors, available from PEI-Genesis, are specialized coaxial connectors designed for twinaxial cables commonly used in high-speed data transmission systems like Ethernet and digital telecommunications. These connectors feature a twinaxial design with dual inner conductors, providing improved signal integrity and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI). They offer reliable performance at high frequencies and are suitable for demanding applications in aerospace, defense, and industrial sectors where precise signal transmission is crucial.

Twinax cables are more suitable for high-speed digital data transmission that uses low voltage, small skew, and tightly phase-matched signals. CABLINE-UM series products from I-PEX are high-speed, ultra-compact connectors with 2.35 mm max profile height and contact pitch of 0.4 mm that can support the data rates of 20 Gb/s per lane using AWG 40 and 42 twinax cables. These connectors are offered in right angle, vertical mating type configuration, and full 360° metallic ZenShield cover with optional mechanical locking. These assemblies can be used in communication protocols such as PCIe, Display Port and USB. Full shielding with multipoint ground contact points prevent EMI leakage.

Si-Fly LP is Samtec’s lowest-profile Flyover® cable solution.  The extremely low 4.35 mm profile allows Si-Fly to be placed adjacent to the IC package and under heat sinks or other cooling hardware for design flexibility. The high-density 8 or 16 pair configurations offer optimal solutions for routing 4 or 8 channels at 112 Gb/s PAM4 data rates and are PCIe 6.0/CXL 3.2 capable. Si-Fly LP is ideal for highly dense applications where z-axis height is limited.  Multiple connectors can be used side-to-side, front-to-back or belly-to-belly.  The cable is 34 AWG, 92 or 100 Ω Eye Speed® ultra-low skew twinax cable.  Its 16 pair aggregate data rate is 896 Gb/s (x8, bi-directional) or 1.79 Tb/s (x16, unidirectional).  The rugged swing latch provides positive retention. This is the Samtec CPC, CPI connector system.

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