Molex Incorporated announced its NeoScaleTM High-Speed Mezzanine System at DesignCon 2014, January 28-31, Santa Clara Convention Center in California. Delivering remarkably clean signal integrity at data rates of 28+ Gbps, the modular mezzanine interconnect is designed for high-density printed circuit board (PCB) mezzanine applications with limited PCB real estate. Industry applications include enterprise networking towers, telecommunication hubs and servers, industrial controllers, and medical and military high data-rate scanning equipment.
Comprised of a vertical plug and vertical receptacle, the NeoScale system features a patent pending modular triad wafer design which enables customizable PCB routing in high-density applications. Molex patented Solder-Charge Technology™ PCB attachment method provides for reliable and robust solder joints. This innovative design allows designers to mix and match 85Ω, 100Ω and power triads to build a mezzanine solution that meets their specific application requirements.
Adam Stanczak, global new product development manager, Molex, notes: “The flexible and robust NeoScale Mezzanine interconnect system utilizes differential pair triads with dedicated ground shields to offer exceptionally clean signal transmission compared to other mezzanine connectors available in the marketplace today. System architects and hardware engineers can count on a highly reliable and easily customizable design tool for a host of high density system applications.”
The modular NeoScale triad wafer comprises three pins per differential pair—two signal pins and one shield pin. Each triad is a stand-alone, shielded 28 Gbps capable differential pair or an 8A power feed and can be optimized for signals supporting high-speed 85Ω or 100Ω differential pairs, high-speed single-ended transmissions, low-speed single-ended/control signals, as well as power pins.
The honeycomb construction of the NeoScale mezzanine interconnect housing routes each triad to minimize crosstalk and effectively route out of the PCB in one or two layers, essentially saving designers in the cost of PCB material. In addition, unique tombstone structures located in the connector housing protect the mating interface and flexible contacts to help prevent damage to the terminals.
The Molex NeoScale system is available in 12.00 to 42.00mm stack heights, circuit sizes of 8 to 300 triad wafers in 2-, 4-, 6-, 8- and 10-rows and 85 or 100 Ohm impedance to provide optimal design flexibility to address engineering constraints in system envelopes.
