The advent of the high-speed digital communication era has witnessed rapid advancements in both soft and hardware across various industries. As working frequencies and bandwidths continue to rise, the performance requirements for connector components have become increasingly stringent. Moreover, the trend towards miniaturization poses significant challenges to maintaining signal integrity in connectors.
Fundamentals of High-Speed Connector Signal Integrity
The shrinking size and increasing frequency of connectors bring to light the need for careful consideration of signal integrity issues, such as characteristic impedance, insertion loss, return loss, crosstalk, etc. Among these, characteristic impedance and crosstalk have the most significant impact on connector signal integrity.
To assess the broadband high-frequency behavior of interconnections accurately, S-parameters (Scattering parameters) are commonly employed. S-parameters describe how standard waveforms scatter from interconnections or measured components.
Key Factors Affecting High-Speed Connector Signal Integrity
Several factors influence high-speed connector signal integrity, including design space, data transmission rate, signal loss, etc. These factors are closely intertwined with different PCB layout designs, thus critically impacting overall signal integrity characteristics. Standard high-speed connectors often follow established architectures and specifications, making it relatively easy for engineers to adjust designs to meet high-frequency requirements. However, customized products present unique challenges. For Greenconn, a company specializing in high-speed connector development, customization is the primary focus. Clients typically provide design space and desired transmission rates, and sometimes requirements regarding signal loss may not be well-defined. As a result, engineers must iteratively adjust design schemes based on different PCB layouts. To ensure signal integrity, they often rely on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations.
How FEA Simulations Facilitate High-Speed Connector Design
In Greenconn’s customized high-speed connector development, stress and high-frequency FEA simulations are vital in continuously refining mechanical designs to meet client demands. The final product’s high-frequency characteristics are compared to measured results, validating the simulation’s effectiveness. Multiple iterations of comparisons accumulate valuable experience, continuously improving the simulation’s accuracy. The process involves the following steps:
- FEA Simulation of Connector Insertion/Extraction: Engineers assess whether the mechanical design meets the required specifications by simulating insertion and extraction forces. Additionally, FEA provides insights into the terminal deformation after insertion, and with correct material parameters and simulation conditions, the results closely align with real-world values.
- Incorporating Terminal Deformation into PCB 3D Modeling: Engineers integrate FEA-simulated terminal deformation into the PCB’s 3D model. The modified model is then imported into high-frequency FEA software for parameter setting and signal input to facilitate high-frequency simulations.
- Iterative Design Adjustments and Simulations: Through iterative adjustments and simulations, engineers attain S-parameters that fulfill client requirements, including impedance matching, insertion loss, return loss, near-end crosstalk, and far-end crosstalk.
Conclusion
As clock frequencies in data transmission continue to rise, the challenges related to signal integrity become more severe, putting high demands on connector design. Impedance matching is crucial to mitigate signal integrity issues, but space constraints can lead to irregular shapes in connector contact terminals, making matching high-frequency transmission characteristics challenging. PCB layout design also plays a significant role in signal integrity. Customized high-speed connector development benefits significantly from FEA simulations, providing precise references to ensure signal integrity, meet high-speed transmission requirements, and avoid unnecessary resource waste, ultimately saving costs.
As high-speed digital communication advances, FEA simulations are invaluable tools for Greenconn and other high-speed connector developers, ensuring the reliability and performance of connectors in the face of escalating high-frequency challenges.