The advantages and applications of solderless vertical connectors

The advantages and applications of solderless vertical connectors

Testing the interconnection between ultra microwave and millimeter wave upper frequency limits is essentially a challenge. Small geometric size, small geometric tolerance, and differential signal wiring of conductor surface and position bring additional design burden and testing obstacles to high-speed data and telecommunications applications. How to add test ports and configurable connections on very dense circuit boards is one of the main issues that urgently need to be addressed, and it is necessary to fully consider the materials of individual conductors and insulators and their impact on circuit performance.

01. Advantages of solderless vertical connectors

In many cases, retaining test ports on circuit boards is not advisable, as solder/soldering may cause circuit damage or degradation. In addition, if solder is used to install connectors without effective control, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), insertion loss, contact resistance, passive intermodulation (PIM), and other performance factors may have a negative impact. Another method is wire bonding, but wire bonding requires specialized machines and skilled operators. The wire bonding pad must be outside and the welding machine can be in contact, thereby increasing the space occupied by the interconnection. In addition, the cost of millimeter wave interconnection itself is high; For the large-scale production of new equipment, the transportation cost of testing port connectors will directly affect the price competitiveness of the product.

The alternative to these methods is the recently launched solderless vertical installation connector. These coaxial connectors (usually 2). 4mm. 2.92mm or SMA standard interfaces) use compression installation technology and adopt a low profile vertical installation configuration. Due to the fact that these connectors are designed specifically for SERDES applications in microwave/millimeter wave telecommunications and highways, they typically have a very low voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and a maximum operating frequency range (approximately 50GHz). In addition, these connectors typically use gold plated beryllium copper center contacts. They are made of stainless steel outer conductors and high-performance media, with a long service life and can be reused multiple times.

02. Application of solderless vertical connectors

These connectors allow engineers to add or remove connectors from ribbon and microstrip transmission lines over a wide range of circuit board thickness and composition. Adopting compression based connection technology without the need for any welding materials, screw installation and connection are reliable enough to be used for high-performance products, not just testing. However, during the testing process, these connectors are physically stronger than most probes and do not require any welding materials, adhesives, or adhesives, making them very suitable for non-destructive and non-interference testing.

For example, when the prototype is connected to a circuit with large components, a solderless vertical installation connector can be placed on the ribbon or microstrip transmission line of the main circuit. Ribbon or microstrip transmission lines are designed to be connected to sub circuits to maintain modularity and achieve a more similar physical layout. This method is usually low-cost and can achieve faster turnaround time, avoiding the introduction of various circuit board configurations to test sub circuits.

Another application can be during wafer testing, where the probe stand is used to place the probe on a sealed wafer and place the test circuit with a solderless vertical mounting connector near the probe locator. Low cross-section vertical installation connectors can be used to limit the required cable length for connections and easily add coaxial connections to stripline/microstrip internal circuits. Other applications include using solderless vertical mounted connectors as modular vertical stacked circuit boards, as well as high mechanical strength RF connections between circuit boards while maintaining low cross-sections.