阅读说明：本技术 高速连接器 (High speed connector ) 是由 乔斯·里卡多·帕尼亚瓜 菲利普·T·斯托科 托马斯·S·科恩 鲍勃·理查德 小唐纳德·W·米 于 2020-02-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供了一种互连系统,所述互连系统具有第一连接器的损耗性材料,所述第一连接器与第二连接器的接地导体相邻。所述损耗性材料可以抑制所述第一连接器和所述第二连接器的配合接口处的共振。在一些实施例中,所述损耗性材料可以附接到所述第一连接器的接地导体。在一些实施例中,所述损耗性材料可以被成形为喇叭形,所述喇叭形沿着被配置成适于接纳配合连接器的接地导体的腔体延伸。(An interconnect system is provided having lossy material of a first connector adjacent a ground conductor of a second connector. The lossy material may suppress resonance at the mating interface of the first connector and the second connector. In some embodiments, the lossy material can be attached to a ground conductor of the first connector. In some embodiments, the lossy material can be shaped as a horn extending along a cavity configured to receive a ground conductor of a mating connector.)

1. An electrical connector, comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements, each conductive element having a mating contact portion; and

a housing assembly for the plurality of conductive elements, the housing assembly comprising a lossy material configured to be adjacent to a ground conductor of a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector, thereby suppressing resonance.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

the lossy material is configured to partially surround the ground conductor of the mating connector.

3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of conductive elements includes pairs of conductive elements,

the housing assembly includes a conductive shield forming at least a portion of an outer shell of the pair of conductive elements, and

the lossy material is adjacent to at least one side of the housing.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein:

the lossy material is adjacent to at least one corner of the housing.

5. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein:

the conductive shield is electrically coupled to the ground conductor of the mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector.

6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

the housing assembly includes an insulating material separating the plurality of conductive elements from the lossy material.

7. An electrical connector, comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements, each conductive element having a mating contact portion, the mating contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements arranged in columns;

a ground cross shield extending perpendicular to the column direction; and

a lossy material adjacent the ground cross-shield.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein:

the ground cross-shield includes a compliant contact portion configured to mate with a ground conductor of a mating connector.

9. The electrical connector of claim 7, comprising:

a housing assembly, the housing assembly comprising:

ground plate shields extending parallel to the column direction, an

A lossy member attached to the ground plate shield, the lossy member comprising lossy material adjacent to the ground cross-shield.

10. The electrical connector of claim 9, wherein:

the ground plate shield has a first surface facing the plurality of conductive elements and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, and

the lossy member includes:

a first portion attached to the first surface of the ground plate shield; and

a second portion attached to the second surface of the ground plate shield, the second portion comprising the lossy material adjacent to the ground cross-shield.

11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein:

the second portion of the lossy member comprises a plurality of ribs configured to form grooves that retain the plurality of conductive elements.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein:

the lossy material adjacent the ground cross-shield extends from the plurality of ribs.

13. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein:

the housing assembly includes an insulative member attached to the ground plate shield, the insulative member including:

a first portion attached to the first surface of the ground plate shield, the first portion comprising a plurality of spacers configured to form a groove that retains mating contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements; and

a second portion attached to the second surface of the ground plate shield.

14. The electrical connector of claim 13, wherein:

the ground cross shield is positioned between the lossy material and one of the plurality of spacers of the insulating member.

15. The electrical connector of claim 9, wherein:

the housing assembly is a left housing assembly located to the left of the column of conductive elements,

the electrical connector also includes a right housing assembly positioned on a right side of the column of conductive elements opposite the left side, and

the conductive element array, the left housing assembly and the right housing assembly form a substrate.

16. The electrical connector of claim 15, wherein:

the substrate is a first substrate; and is

The electrical connector includes a plurality of wafers aligned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the column.

17. An electrical connector, comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements, each conductive element having a mating contact portion; and

a housing assembly for the plurality of conductive elements, the housing member having a lossy material defining at least one cavity configured to receive a ground conductor of a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector.

18. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein:

the shell member includes a plurality of flared portions formed from the lossy material, each flared portion defining one of the at least one cavity.

19. The electrical connector of claim 18, wherein:

the plurality of horn-shaped portions are arranged in pairs, and

the flared portions of each pair define the same cavity configured to receive a respective ground conductor of the mating connector.

20. A method for manufacturing an electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements arranged in a column and a ground plate shield on each side of the column, the plurality of conductive elements being arranged in pairs, each ground plate shield having a first surface facing the plurality of conductive elements and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, the method comprising:

forming a first shield component and a second shield component by selectively molding lossy material and insulative material to the first and second surfaces of the ground plate shields;

placing the first and second shield assemblies on opposite sides of the column of conductive elements; and is

A ground cross shield is interposed between the pair of conductive elements.

Technical Field

The present patent application relates generally to interconnect systems for interconnecting electronic components, such as interconnect systems including electrical connectors.

Background

Electrical connectors are used in many electronic systems. It is generally easier and more cost effective to manufacture the system as separate electronic components, such as printed circuit boards ("PCBs"), that can be connected together by electrical connectors. A known arrangement for connecting a plurality of printed circuit boards is to use one printed circuit board as a backplane. Other printed circuit boards, referred to as "daughter boards" or "daughter cards," may be connected through the backplane.

One known backplane is a printed circuit board on which a number of connectors can be mounted. The conductive traces on the backplane may be electrically connected to signal conductors in the connectors so that signals may be routed between the connectors. Connectors may also be mounted on the daughter cards. Connectors mounted on the daughter card may be inserted into connectors mounted on the backplane. Thus, signals may be routed between daughter cards through the backplane. Daughter cards may be inserted into the backplane at right angles. Accordingly, connectors for these applications may include right angle bends, and are commonly referred to as "right angle connectors". Further, plates of the same size or similar sizes may sometimes be aligned in parallel. Connectors used in these applications are commonly referred to as "stacked connectors" or "mezzanine connectors".

The connector may also be used in other configurations for interconnecting printed circuit boards and for interconnecting other types of devices, such as cables, to printed circuit boards. Some systems use a mid-plane configuration. Similar to the backplane, the midplane mounts on one surface connectors that are interconnected by conductive traces within the midplane. The midplane additionally mounts connectors on the second side for inserting daughter cards into both sides of the midplane.

Daughter cards inserted from opposite sides of the mid-plane generally have an orthogonal orientation. This orientation positions one edge of each printed circuit board adjacent to the edge of each board that is inserted into the opposite side of the middle board. The traces within the midplane connecting the board on one side of the midplane to the board on the other side of the midplane may be short, resulting in the desired signal integrity characteristics.

One variation of the intermediate plate configuration is referred to as "direct attachment". In this configuration, daughter cards are inserted from opposite sides of the chassis that encases the printed circuit board of the system. The plates are also orthogonally oriented so that the edge of a plate inserted from one side of the rack is adjacent to the edge of a plate inserted from the opposite side of the system. These daughter cards also have connectors. However, rather than plugging into a connector on the intermediate board, the connector on each daughter card is plugged directly into a connector on the printed circuit board plugged from the opposite side of the system. This configuration of connectors is sometimes referred to as a direct-attach orthogonal connector. Examples of direct-attach orthogonal connectors are shown in U.S. patents 7354274, 7331830, 8678860, 8057267, and 8251745.

Regardless of the exact application, the design of electrical connectors has been adapted to reflect trends in the electronics industry. Electronic systems have become smaller, faster and functionally more complex in general. As a result of these changes, the number of circuits within a particular area of an electronic system and the operating frequency of the circuits have increased dramatically in recent years. Current systems transfer more data between printed circuit boards and require electrical connectors to be able to process more data at a faster rate than even connectors years ago from an electrical standpoint.

In high density, high speed connectors, the electrical conductors may be so close to each other that electrical interference may exist between adjacent signal conductors. To reduce interference and otherwise provide desired electrical performance, shielding members are typically placed between or around adjacent signal conductors. The shield may prevent signals carried on one conductor from causing "crosstalk" on another conductor. The shield may also affect the impedance of each conductor, which may further contribute to the desired electrical performance.

Examples of shields can be found in U.S. patent nos. 4,632,476 and 4,806,107, which show connector designs that use shields between columns of signal contacts. These patents describe connectors in which shields extend parallel to the signal contacts across both the daughter board connector and the backplane connector. A cantilever beam is used to make electrical contact between the shield and the backplane connector. U.S. patent nos. 5,433,617, 5,429,521, 5,429,520 and 5,433,618 show similar constructions, but the electrical connection between the backplate and the shield is made by spring-type contacts. A shield with a twist beam contact is used in the connector described in U.S. patent No. 5,980,321. Additional shields are shown in U.S. patent nos. 9,004,942, 9,705,255.

Other techniques may be used to control the performance of the connector. For example, transmitting signals in a differential manner may also reduce crosstalk. Differential signals are transmitted through a pair of conductive paths known as a "differential pair". The voltage difference between the conductive paths represents a signal. Generally, a differential pair is designed to preferentially couple between the conductive paths of the pair. For example, the two conductive paths of a differential pair may be arranged to extend closer to each other than adjacent signal paths in the connector. No shielding is desired between the conductive paths of the pair, but shielding may be used between differential pairs. Electrical connectors may be designed for differential signals and single-ended signals. Examples of differential electrical connectors are shown in U.S. patent nos. 6,293,827, 6,503,103, 6,776,659, 7,163,421 and 7,794,278.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of a high speed, high density interconnect system are described. According to some embodiments, very high speed performance may be achieved by a connector having a lossy material configured to be adjacent to a ground conductor of a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector.

Some embodiments relate to electrical connectors. The electrical connector may include a plurality of conductive elements each having a mating contact portion and a housing assembly for the plurality of conductive elements. The housing assembly may include a lossy material configured to be adjacent to a ground conductor of a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector, thereby suppressing resonance.

In some embodiments, the lossy material is configured to partially surround a ground conductor of the mating connector.

In some embodiments, the plurality of conductive elements includes a pair of conductive elements. The housing assembly includes a conductive shield forming at least a portion of the outer shell of the pair of conductive elements. The lossy material is adjacent to at least one side of the housing.

In some embodiments, the lossy material is adjacent to at least one corner of the housing.

In some embodiments, the conductive shield is electrically coupled to a ground conductor of the mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector.

In some embodiments, the housing assembly includes an insulating material separating the plurality of conductive elements from the lossy material.

Some embodiments relate to electrical connectors. An electrical connector may include a plurality of conductive elements each having a mating contact portion, the mating contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements arranged in a column, a ground cross-shield extending perpendicular to the column direction, and a lossy material adjacent the ground cross-shield.

In some embodiments, the ground cross-shield includes compliant contact portions configured to mate with ground conductors of a mating connector.

In some embodiments, an electrical connector includes a housing assembly. The housing assembly includes a ground plate shield extending parallel to the column direction and a lossy member attached to the ground plate shield, the lossy member comprising a lossy material adjacent to the grounded cross-shield.

In some embodiments, the ground plate shield has a first surface facing the plurality of conductive elements and a second surface facing opposite the first surface. The lossy member comprises a first portion attached to the first surface of the ground plate shield and a second portion attached to the second surface of the ground plate shield, the second portion comprising lossy material adjacent to the ground cross-shield.

In some embodiments, the second portion of the lossy member comprises a plurality of ribs configured to form grooves for holding a plurality of conductive elements.

In some embodiments, the lossy material adjacent the ground cross-shield extends from a plurality of ribs.

In some embodiments, the housing assembly includes an insulative member attached to the ground plate shield. The insulative member includes a first portion attached to the first surface of the ground plate shield, the first portion including a plurality of spacers configured to form a channel that retains the mating contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements; and a second portion attached to the second surface of the ground plate shield.

In some embodiments, the grounded cross shield is located between the lossy material and one of the plurality of spacers of the insulating member.

In some embodiments, the housing assembly is a left housing assembly located to the left of the column of conductive elements. The electrical connector also includes a right housing assembly located on a right side of the column of conductive elements opposite the left side. The conductive element array, the left housing assembly and the right housing assembly form a substrate.

In some embodiments, the substrate is a first substrate. The electrical connector includes a plurality of wafers aligned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the columns.

Some embodiments relate to electrical connectors. The electrical connector includes a plurality of conductive elements each having a mating contact portion and a housing assembly for the plurality of conductive elements. The housing member has lossy material defining at least one cavity configured to receive a ground conductor of a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector.

In some embodiments, the shell member includes a plurality of flared portions formed of a lossy material, each flared portion defining one of the at least one cavity.

In some embodiments, the plurality of flared portions are arranged in pairs. The flared portions of each pair define the same cavity configured to receive a corresponding ground conductor of a mating connector.

Some embodiments relate to a method for manufacturing an electrical connector. The electrical connector may include a plurality of conductive elements arranged in a column and a ground plate shield on each side of the column. The plurality of conductive elements may be arranged in pairs. Each ground plate shield can have a first surface facing the plurality of conductive elements and a second surface facing opposite the first surface. The method can comprise the following steps: the method includes forming first and second shield assemblies by selectively molding lossy and insulative materials to first and second surfaces of a ground plate shield, placing the first and second shield assemblies on opposite sides of a column of conductive elements, and inserting a ground cross-shield between a pair of conductive elements.

These techniques may be used alone or in any suitable combination. The foregoing is a non-limiting summary of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Drawings

The figures are not drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

fig. 1A and 1B are perspective views of an electrical interconnection system showing two connectors mated and unmated, respectively, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a wafer (wafer) of a daughterboard connector of the electrical interconnection system of fig. 1A and 1B, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the substrate of fig. 2 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view according to line 12A in fig. 1, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of a left shield assembly of the substrate of fig. 2 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of a right shield assembly of the substrate of fig. 2 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 7 is an elevation view illustrating an assembly process of the substrate of fig. 2 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a backplane connector of the electrical interconnection system of fig. 1A and 1B, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan view of encircled area 9A in fig. 8 in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 10A is a side view of the backplane connector of fig. 8, the connector being partially cut away to show a cross-section along line 10A in fig. 8, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 10B is a perspective view of a shield plate of the backplane connector of fig. 10A according to some embodiments.

Fig. 10C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the encircled area 10C in fig. 10A in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 10D is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the encircled area 10D in fig. 10A in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 11A is a cut-away plan view along line 11A in fig. 1 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 11B is a partial cross-sectional view along line 11B in fig. 11A according to some embodiments.

Fig. 12A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 12A of fig. 1, showing a daughter card connector and a backplane connector in an unmated state according to some embodiments.

Fig. 12B is a partial cross-sectional view along line 12A of fig. 1 showing a daughter card connector and backplane connector in a mated state in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed Description

The present inventors have recognized and appreciated connector designs that improve the performance of high density interconnect systems, particularly those that carry the very high frequency signals necessary to support high data rates. The connector design may provide effective shielding in the mating area of the two connectors. The shield may separate the mating portions of the conductive elements that carry the individual signals when the two connectors are mated. In some embodiments, the shield may substantially surround a mating portion of the signal-carrying conductive element, which may be a pair of conductive elements of a connector configured for carrying differential signals.

The inventors recognize and appreciate that such shielding, while effective at low frequencies, may not work as expected at high frequencies. To enable effective isolation of the signal conductors at high frequencies, the connectors may include lossy material selectively positioned within the mating region of at least a first one of the connectors. Lossy material may be integrated into the shield in order to suppress resonance in the conductive element forming the shield at least partially surrounding the signal conductor. In some embodiments, the lossy material can be attached to a ground conductor that forms part of the shield. In some embodiments, the lossy material can be adjacent to the ground conductors of the second mating connector when the first connector is mated with the mating connector. In some embodiments, the lossy material can be shaped as a horn defining a cavity configured to receive a ground conductor of a mating connector.

An exemplary embodiment of such a connector is shown in fig. 1A and 1B. Fig. 1A and 1B depict an electrical interconnect system 100 in a form that may be used in an electronic system. The electrical interconnect system 100 may include two mating connectors. In the embodiment shown, a first of the mating connectors is a right angle connector 102, which may be used, for example, to electrically connect a daughter card to a backplane. In the embodiment shown, the connector 102 is configured to attach to a daughter card. In the embodiment of fig. 1A and 1B, the mating connector is a connector 104 configured to attach to a backplane.

The daughter card connector 102 may include contact tails 106 configured to attach to a daughter card (not shown). Backplane connector 104 may include contact tails (not shown) configured to attach to a backplane. These contact tails form one end of conductive elements that pass through the interconnect system. When the connector is mounted on a printed circuit board, these contact tails will make electrical connection with conductive structures within the printed circuit board that carry signals or to a reference potential. In the example shown, the contact tails are press-fit "eye of the needle" contacts designed to press into vias in the printed circuit board, which in turn may be connected to signal traces or ground planes or other conductive structures within the printed circuit board. However, other forms of contact tails may be used.

Each of the connectors may have a mating interface where the connector may be mated with or separated from the other connectors. The daughter card connector 102 may include a mating interface 108. The backplane connector 104 may include a mating interface 110. Although not fully visible in the view shown in fig. 1B, the mating contact portions of the conductive elements (e.g., the mating contact portions 112 of the conductive elements of the backplane connector 104) are exposed at the mating interface.

Each of these conductive elements includes an intermediate portion connecting the contact tail to the mating contact portion. The intermediate portion may be retained within a connector housing, at least a portion of which may be dielectric, so as to provide electrical isolation between the conductive elements. Further, the connector housing may include conductive or lossy portions that, in some embodiments, may provide a conductive or partially conductive path between some of the conductive elements or may be positioned to dissipate electromagnetic energy. In some embodiments, the conductive portion may provide shielding. The lossy portion may also provide shielding in some cases and/or may provide desired electrical performance within the connector.

In various embodiments, the dielectric member may be molded or overmolded on the conductive element by a dielectric material such as plastic or nylon. Examples of suitable materials include, but are not limited to, Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), high temperature nylon or polyphenylene oxide (PPO), or polypropylene (PP). Other suitable materials may be used, as aspects of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

All of the above materials are suitable for use as bonding materials in the manufacture of the connector. According to some embodiments, one or more fillers may be included in some or all of the bonding materials. By way of non-limiting example, thermoplastic PPS filled with glass fibers at 30% by volume may be used to form the entire connector housing or dielectric portion of the housing.

Alternatively or additionally, portions of the housing may be formed from an electrically conductive material such as machined metal or pressed metal powder. In some embodiments, portions of the housing may be formed of metal or other conductive material having a dielectric member that spaces the signal conductors from the conductive portions. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the housing of the backplane connector 104 may have a region formed from a conductive material having an insulating member separating the middle portion of the signal conductors from the conductive portions of the housing. The housing of the daughter card connector 102 may also be formed in any suitable manner.

The daughter card connector 102 may be formed from a plurality of subassemblies referred to herein as "wafers". Fig. 2 depicts a perspective view of a substrate 200 that may be used to form the daughter card connector 102. The substrate 200 may hold columns of conductive elements that form signal conductors. In some embodiments, the signal conductors may be shaped and separated to form single-ended signal conductors. In some embodiments, the signal conductors may be shaped and spaced in pairs to provide differential signal conductor pairs. The signal conductor columns may include or be defined by conductive elements that serve as ground conductors. It will be appreciated that the ground conductor need not be connected to earth ground, but rather is shaped to carry a reference potential, which may include earth ground, a DC voltage, or other suitable reference potential. The "ground" or "reference" conductors may have a different shape than the signal conductors, which are configured to provide suitable signal transmission characteristics for high frequency signals. In the illustrated embodiment, the signal conductors within a column are grouped in pairs, positioned for edge coupling to support differential signaling.

The conductive elements may be made of metal or any other material that is electrically conductive and provides suitable mechanical properties to the conductive elements in the electrical connector. Phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, and other copper alloys are non-limiting examples of materials that may be used. The conductive elements may be formed from these materials in any suitable manner, including by stamping and/or forming.

Referring again to fig. 1A and 1B, one or more members may hold a plurality of substrates in a desired position. For example, the support members 114 may respectively hold the top and rear of a plurality of substrates in a side-by-side configuration. The support member 114 may be formed from any suitable material, such as sheet metal stamped with tabs, openings, or other features that engage corresponding features (e.g., attachment features 202) on a single substrate.

Each of the plurality of substrates may hold an array of conductive elements held by the substrate housing 204, as shown in fig. 2. The spacing between adjacent conductor columns may provide a high density of signal conductors while still providing the desired signal integrity. The spacing may be controlled by the dimensions of the substrate enclosure 204, including, for example, the width w of the insulating tape 206. By way of non-limiting example, the conductors may be stamped from a 0.4mm thick copper alloy, and the conductors within each column may be separated by 2.25mm, and the conductor columns may be separated by 2.4 mm. However, higher densities can be achieved by placing the conductors closer together. In other embodiments, smaller dimensions may be used to provide higher densities, such as a thickness of between 0.2 and 0.4mm, or a spacing of 0.7 to 1.85mm between columns or conductors within a column, for example. However, it should be appreciated that more pairs per column, tighter spacing between pairs within a column, and/or smaller distances between columns may be used to achieve a higher density of connectors.

Fig. 3 depicts an exploded view of a substrate 200 according to some embodiments. The substrate 200 may include a signal lead frame 302, left and right shield assemblies 304, 306, and a plurality of ground cross shields 308. Signal leadframe 302 may include a column of signal conductive elements, each of which may have a contact tail 310, a mating portion 312, and an intermediate portion that extends between the contact tail and the mating portion and is retained by a signal leadframe housing 324. Signal lead frame 302 may be formed in any suitable manner. For example, the signal leadframe housing may be formed around the signal conductor columns by an insert molding process.

As shown in fig. 3, the signal conductors are grouped in pairs along the columns. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating portions 312 of the signal conductors include beams having raised portions. The outer surface of the raised portion may be plated with gold or other material to form the contact surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating portions of the signal conductors forming a pair have contact surfaces facing in the same direction. However, adjacent pairs of contact surfaces face in opposite directions.

In the illustrated embodiment, the signal conductors are positioned within the substrate such that when the daughter card connector 102 is mated with the backplane connector 104, the mating portions 312 will press against the corresponding mating contact portions 114 of the backplane connector 104. In some embodiments, the mating contact portion 114 of the backplane connector may be a blade, pad, or other flat surface. However, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1B, the mating contact portion 114 may be shaped similarly to the mating portion 312. For example, the mating contact portion 114 may have a raised portion near the distal end of the beam. The outer surface of the raised portion may be plated to form the contact surface. In such embodiments, the convex contact surface of each contact portion will press against the surface of the beam of the other mating contact when the connectors are mated. These surfaces of the beam may similarly be plated with gold or other noble metal or other oxidation resistant coating to reliably form an electrical connection.

As can also be seen in fig. 3, the spacing between signal conductors within a pair of signal conductors is less than the spacing between signal conductors of a different pair, thus leaving space between adjacent pairs of signal conductors. One or more ground conductors may be positioned in this space between adjacent pairs. The ground conductors between adjacent pairs are not visible within the signal leadframe housing 324. However, it can be seen that the contact tails of the ground conductors extend from the edge of the signal leadframe housing 324 along the contact tails of the signal conductors. This spacing between adjacent signal conductors can also be seen at the edge of the signal leadframe housing 324 from which the mating portions 312 of the signal conductors extend.

Within the mating region, a ground cross shield 308 may be positioned between the differential signal conductor pairs. In the illustrated embodiment, the ground cross shields 308 have generally planar surfaces perpendicular to the column direction. In this configuration, the ground cross shields 308 separate adjacent pairs in the column direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of ground cross shields 308 is one greater than the number of signal conductor pairs, such that each pair of signal conductors is located between and adjacent to two ground cross shields 308.

The ground cross shield 308 may be connected to conductive structures within the substrate 200 designed for grounding, such as ground conductors between signal conductors within the signal lead frame housing 324. The upper edge of the ground cross shield 308 may be shaped to form a connection with the end of such a ground conductor. Alternatively or additionally, the ground cross shield 308 may be electrically connected to the conductive ground plates of the left and right shield assemblies, such as via edges of the ground cross shield 308 that are inserted into slots of the ground plates or other attachment mechanisms.

The ground cross shield may include contact features 332 configured to make contact with ground conductors of a mating connector. The contact features may be configured to provide a desired contact force. In some embodiments, the contact features may be formed as one or more beams that are bent in the plane of the body of the ground cross-shield. When the mating contact portion pushes the beams towards the body of the grounded cross-shield, a reaction force sufficient to provide electrical contact will be generated. In the illustrated embodiment, the contact features form a collection of beams that are joined at the top and bottom to the body of the cross-shield. The set of beams has a shape similar to a paperclip. The contact surfaces are formed at the intersection of beams extending in opposite directions. The beams are bent so that these contact surfaces extend from the plane of the ground cross-shield 308.

The ground cross shield 308 may be made of metal or any other material that is electrically conductive and provides suitable mechanical properties to the conductive elements in the electrical connector. Phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, and other copper alloys are non-limiting examples of materials that may be used. The conductive elements may be formed from these materials in any suitable manner, including by stamping and/or forming.

Each of the left and right shield assemblies 304 and 306 may include ground plate shields 502L and 502R, respectively. The ground plate shield may include contact tails 314 configured to be mounted to the daughter card and make electrical contact with the ground plane of the daughter card. The contact tail 314 may form a portion of the contact tail 106 of the substrate 200 (fig. 2). In the illustrated embodiment, the contact tails 314 of each of the ground plate shields are positioned in a line that is parallel to the lines of the contact tails 310 of the conductive elements in the signal lead frame 302. In some embodiments, the contact tails 314 may be in the same plane as the body of the ground plate shield from which they extend. In such embodiments, the contact tail 314 will deviate from the line of contact tail 310 in a direction perpendicular to the line of contact tail 310. In other embodiments, the contact tails 310 may extend from portions of the ground plate shields that are bent out of the plane of the ground plate shield body. In some embodiments, the contact tails 310 may extend from portions of the ground plate shields that are bent toward the signal lead frame 302. In such a configuration, the contact tails 314 may be located on a line of the contact tails 310.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, each of the ground plate shields 502L and 502R has contact tails 314 that are one-half of the pairs of signal conductors within the signal lead frame 302. The contact tails 314 are spaced apart by a distance between two adjacent pairs. In addition, the contact tails 314 of the ground plate shields 502L and 502R are offset from each other in a direction along the line of the contact tails 310 by an interval equal to the space between the contact tails of a pair of signal conductors. Such a configuration enables contact tails 314 to be positioned adjacent to contact tails 310 of signal conductors within signal lead frame 302. In addition, it enables contact tails 314 to be positioned between contact tails 310 of each pair of signal conductors within signal lead frame 302. In embodiments where there are ground conductors within signal lead frame 302 and contact tails between contact tails of pairs of signal conductors, there may be multiple ground contact tails between contact tails of each pair of signal conductors. In the illustrated embodiment, there may be two ground contact tails between the contact tails of each pair of signal conductors, one from a ground conductor in the signal lead frame 302 and one from the ground plate shield 502L or 502R.

The ground plate shield may also include a mating end 316 configured to mate with a backplane connector (e.g., connector 104) and a plate 504 (visible in fig. 5) extending between the contact tails 314 and the mating end 316. The ground plate shield can include a first surface 602 (visible in fig. 6) facing the columns of signal conductive elements and a second surface 508 (visible in fig. 5) facing opposite the respective first surface. The mating contact portions and intermediate portions of each column of signal conductors will be between the ground plate shields 502L and 502R when the wafer 200 is assembled.

Each ground plate shield may have a shield shell 326 attached thereto. In the illustrated embodiment, the shield housing 326 may be insert molded around or over the ground plate shield. Shield shell 326 may be insulative and may include features that position shield assemblies 304 and 306 in an assembly substrate relative to signal lead frame 302. Alternatively or additionally, these features may locate and/or electrically insulate conductive elements in signal lead frame 302 and/or a mating connector. As an example of such features, the insulating tape 206 may be formed on the second surface of the ground plate shield along with the separator 322 (fig. 5).

The shield shell 326 may include a plurality of spacers 322 adjacent the mating end 316 of the ground plate shield. Each spacer of the ground shield assembly may have a space 330 that holds the mating contact portions 312 of a pair of signal conductive elements. The spacer 322 of each of the left and right shield assemblies can form a space 330 that is part of a differential signal conductor pair. In the embodiment shown, each of the left and right shield shells has a spacer 322 for one half of the mating portion pair in signal lead frame 302. The space 330 of each of the left shield assembly 304 and the right shield assembly 306 opens in opposite directions perpendicular to the line of the mating portion 312. A space 330 on the spacer on the right shield assembly 306 is positioned to receive the mating portion 312 with its contact surface facing to the left in the orientation of fig. 3. These spaces 330 are open to the left so that these mating portions can mate with conductive elements of the mating connector of the daughter card connector 102 from the left side of the line inserted into the mating portion 312. The space 330 on the spacer on the left shield assembly 304 is positioned to receive the mating portion 312 with its contact surface facing to the right in the orientation of fig. 3. These spaces 330 are open to the right so that these mating portions can mate with conductive elements of the mating connector of the daughter card connector 102 from the right side of the line inserted into the mating portions 312.

The spacers 330 may be insulative and configured to provide electrical insulation between adjacent pairs of differential signal conductors. The spacer can also include a wall 514 (fig. 5) to electrically insulate the signal conductor from the ground plate 504. The separator 330 may be formed as part of an insert molding operation in which the insulating tape 206 is formed, and may form a single member with the insulating tape 206 molded around the mating end 316. The plate 504 can include holes (not numbered) into which the insulating material can flow during the insert molding operation, securing the separator 330 and other molded features to the plate 504.

The lossy material can be positioned within the substrate 200, such as by molding the lossy material onto the ground plate shield. In some embodiments, the shield shell 326 may be molded from a lossy material and may include a plurality of ribs 318 formed on the first surface of the ground plate shield. For example, such a configuration may be formed by flowing a lossy material through holes in a ground plate shield as part of an insert molding operation in which the shield shell 326 is formed. The rib 318 may be adjacent to the plate 504 of the ground plate shield. The ribs may form a plurality of grooves 328, each of which may be configured to hold a pair of differential signal conductors when shield assemblies 304 and 306 are combined with signal leadframe 302. In this configuration, lossy material in the form of ribs 318 may separate intermediate portions of adjacent pairs of signal conductors within signal lead frame 302.

The lossy material can be positioned in the mating region as part of the same or different operation. For example, the shield shell 326 may include a lossy portion 320 that extends into the mating region. The lossy portion 320 can extend from ribs that can be obtained, for example, by forming the lossy portion 320 and the ribs 318 as part of the same operation. The lossy portion 320 can be adjacent the mating end 316 of the ground plate shield.

Each lossy portion 320 can be adjacent a respective spacer 322, but outside of the space 330, configured to hold a mating contact portion of a pair of dissimilar signal conductors. The lossy portion 320 can be flared. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of lossy portions 320 in each of shield assemblies 304 and 306 is the same as the number of crossover shields 308. The lossy portions 320 from the shield components 304 and 306 can be positioned to the left and right of the contact surface of the cross-shield 308, respectively.

The lossy portions 320 of the left and right shield shells may be arranged to form a pair. Each of the left and right shield shells may contribute a lossy portion to a pair. The lossy portion 320 from the shield assemblies 304 and 306 can define a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of a ground conductor of a mating connector (e.g., connector 102) to be mated with the ground cross-shield 308. Alternatively or in addition, the ground cross-shield 308 may be within a cavity defined by the lossy portion 320. In some embodiments, the ground cross-shield 308 can be configured to be inserted between the lossy portion and the adjacent spacer 322 when the lossy portion is configured to receive a ground conductor of a mating connector. In some embodiments, the lossy portion 320 can be configured to press against the ground cross-shield 308, providing an electrical connection between the ground cross-shield 308 and the left and/or right ground plate shields. The connection may be lossy.

At least some portions of the shield shell 326, such as the ribs 318 and/or the lossy portion 320, may be molded from or include a lossy material. Any suitable lossy material can be used for these and other "lossy" structures. A material that is electrically conductive but somewhat lossy, or absorbs electromagnetic energy in a frequency range of interest through another physical mechanism, is generally referred to herein as a "lossy" material. The electrically lossy material may be formed from a lossy dielectric and/or poorly conductive and/or lossy magnetic material. The magnetically lossy material can be formed from materials that are traditionally considered ferromagnetic materials, such as those having a magnetic loss tangent greater than about 0.05 over the frequency range of interest. The "magnetic tangent loss value" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex dielectric permittivity of a material. The actual lossy magnetic material or mixtures containing lossy magnetic material may also exhibit useful dielectric or conductive loss effects in the portions of the frequency range of interest. The electrically lossy material can be formed from materials conventionally considered to be non-dielectric materials, such as those having an electrical loss tangent greater than about 0.05 over the frequency range of interest. The "electrical loss tangent value" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex permittivity of a material. Electrically lossy materials can also be formed of materials that are generally considered conductors, but are relatively weak conductors in the frequency range of interest, containing conductive particles or regions that are not sufficiently dispersed so that they do not provide high conductivity or are otherwise prepared to have properties that result in relatively poor bulk conductivity compared to a good conductor, such as copper, in the frequency range of interest.

Electrically lossy materials typically have a bulk conductivity of about 1 siemens/m to about 10,000 siemens/m, and preferably have a bulk conductivity of about 1 siemens/m to about 5,000 siemens/m. In some embodiments, materials having bulk conductivities between about 10 siemens/meter and about 200 siemens/meter may be used. As a specific example, a material having a conductivity of about 50 siemens/meter may be used. However, it should be understood that the conductivity of the material may be selected empirically or by electrical simulation using known simulation tools to determine an appropriate conductivity that provides suitably low crosstalk and suitably low signal path attenuation or insertion loss.

The electrically lossy material can be a partially conductive material, such as those having a surface resistivity between 1 ohm/square meter and 100,000 ohm/square meter. In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material has a surface resistivity between 10 ohms/square and 1000 ohms/square. As a specific example, the material may have a surface resistivity between 20 ohms/square and 80 ohms/square.

In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material is formed by adding a filler comprising conductive particles to a binder. In such embodiments, the lossy member may be formed by molding or otherwise forming the binder and filler into a desired shape. Examples of conductive particles that can be used as fillers to form the electrically lossy material include carbon or graphite formed into fibers, flakes, nanoparticles, or other types of particles. Metals in the form of powders, flakes, fibers, or other particles may also be used to provide suitable electrical loss characteristics. In addition, combinations of fillers may be used. For example, metal-coated carbon particles may be used. Silver and nickel are suitable metal plating materials for the fibers. The coated particles may be used alone or in combination with additional fillers such as carbon flakes. The applicator or matrix may be any material that is placed, cured, or may be used to position the filler material. In some embodiments, the bonding agent may be a thermoplastic material conventionally used to manufacture electrical connectors to facilitate molding of the electrically lossy material into a desired shape and position as part of the manufacture of the electrical connectors. Examples of such materials include Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP) and nylon. However, many alternative forms of binder material may be used. A cured material such as an epoxy may act as a binder. In addition, a material such as a thermosetting resin or an adhesive may be used.

Also, the above binder material may be used to obtain the electrically lossy material by forming a binder around the conductive particle filler, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the conductive particles can be spread over or coated on the shaped matrix material, such as by applying a conductive coating to a plastic or metal part. As used herein, the term "binder" encompasses a material that encapsulates, is dispersed throughout, or otherwise serves as a substrate to which fillers are secured.

Preferably, these fillers are present in a sufficient volume percentage to form a conductive path from particle to particle. For example, when metal fibers are used, the fibers may be present in a volume percent of about 3% to 40%. The amount of filler can affect the conductive properties of the material.

The filled material is commercially available, such as Celanese Inc. toTrademarks, which may be filled with carbon fiber or stainless steel filaments. Lossy materials such as lossy conductive carbon filled with a viscous preform, such as the material sold by Techfilm corporation of bill maryca, massachusetts, usa, may also be used. The preform may include an epoxy binder filled with carbon fibers and/or other carbon particles. The binder surrounds the carbon granules to act as a reinforcing structure for the preform. Such a preform may be inserted into a connector substrate to form all or part of a housing. In some embodiments, the preform may be adhered by a binder in the preform, which may be cured during the heat treatment. In some embodiments, the adhesive may take the form of a separate conductive adhesive layer or a non-conductive adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the adhesive in the preform may alternatively or additionally be used to secure one or more conductive elements, such as a foil strip, to the lossy material.

Various forms of reinforcing fibers (woven or non-woven forms) may be used, coated or non-coated. Non-woven carbon fibers are one suitable material. Additional suitable materials may be employed, such as a custom mix sold by RTP corporation, as the invention is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the lossy portion can be made by stamping a preform or sheet of lossy material. For example, the lossy portion may be formed by stamping a preform as described above with an appropriate pattern of openings. However, other materials may be used in place of or in addition to such preforms. A sheet of e.g. ferromagnetic material may be used.

However, the lossy portion may be formed in other ways. In some embodiments, the lossy portion can be formed from alternating layers of lossy material and conductive material, such as metal foil. The layers may be securely attached to each other, such as by using epoxy or other adhesive, or may be held together in any other suitable manner. The layers may have a desired shape before being secured to one another, or may be stamped or otherwise formed after they are held together. As a further alternative, the lossy portion can be formed by electroplating plastic or other insulating material with a lossy coating, such as a diffusion metal coating.

Fig. 4 depicts a partial cross-sectional view 400 along line 12A in fig. 1A according to some embodiments. View 400 is perpendicular to the column direction and shows a portion of the daughtercard connector 102 that includes a first substrate 200a and a second substrate 200b positioned side-by-side in the row direction. The first substrate 200a may include a signal lead frame including signal conductors having mating portions 312. The first substrate 200a may further include left and right shield assemblies on opposite sides of the signal lead frame. The left shield assembly may include a left ground plate shield 502 a. The right shield assembly may include a right ground plate shield 502 b. The side-by-side positioning of the submounts positions the left ground plate shield 502a adjacent to the right ground plate shield 502c of the submounts 200 b. The ground plane shield layers are separated by slots into which the backplane shields can be inserted when mated. Some or all of the wafers in the connector may be positioned with an intervening slot configured to accommodate receiving a shield plate of a mating connector in this manner.

The left shield assembly shown in fig. 4 includes a lossy portion 320 a. The right shield assembly includes a lossy portion 320 b. The lossy portions 320a and 320b are shown configured as pairs and positioned to receive a ground conductor (not shown) therebetween. The ground conductor may be, for example, a ground shield blade of the backplane connector 104. It will be appreciated that the signal conductors having the mating portions 312 of fig. 4 are offset in the column direction from the pair of lossy portions 320a and 320 b.

The substrate 200b may have a similar configuration to the substrate 200 a. View 400 shows the right ground plate shield 502c of the right shield assembly of the second substrate 200 b.

Fig. 4 shows the mating area of the connector including substrates 200a and 200 b. These substrates may be configured as right angle connectors as shown in fig. 1A and 1B. However, the mating interface shown in FIG. 4 may be created for connectors of other configurations. Fig. 4 shows a portion of a mating connector, which in the illustrated construction is a backplane connector. View 400 also shows portions of backplane connector 104 that may include conductive elements having contact tails 404 configured to contact a backplane. The conductive elements may have mating portions opposite the contact tails 404. The mating portions may be configured to mate with the mating portions 312 of the signal conductors of the daughter card connector 102. In some embodiments, the mating portions of the conductive elements configured to serve as signal conductors in the backplane connector 104 may have mating contact portions shaped similar to the mating portions 312. In other embodiments, the mating portions of the signal conductors in backplane connector 104 may be shaped as blades or have any other suitable form.

The mating portions of the conductive elements of the backplane connector 104 may be retained by a connector housing, which may be fully or partially insulated. The backplane connector 104 may also include shield plates 402a and 402b that may have contact features 406 configured to make contact with the ground plate shields of the daughter card connector 102. In the example shown, the backplane shield 402a is interposed between the left ground plate shield 502a of the first substrate 200a and the right ground plate shield 502c of the second substrate 200c, and makes contact with the ground plate shields 502a and 502c through the contact features 406.

Fig. 5 and 6 depict exploded views of left and right shield assemblies 304, 306 according to some embodiments. Fig. 5 shows the outside of the left shield assembly, while fig. 6 shows the inside of the right shield assembly. Each shield assembly may include a ground plate shield (e.g., 502a, 502b), an insulating member 510, and a lossy member 512. The ground plate shield can include an aperture configured to be filled with material from the insulating member and/or the lossy member, thereby locking the ground plate shield, the insulating member, and the lossy member together.

Each of the ground plate shields 502a and 502b may include a contact tail 314, a mating end 316, and a plate 504, which may include a surface 602 facing the signal conductor columns and a surface 508 opposite the surface 602. In some embodiments, there may be a linkage 506 between the plate 504 and the mating end 316 such that the distance between the left and right plates 504 of the shields 502a and 502b may be different than the distance between the left and right mating ends 316 of the shields 502a and 502 b. The link 506 may be offset from the mating end in a direction perpendicular to a plane in which the body of the plate 504 extends.

The mating end 316 may include curved edges 604a and 604b that may be positioned beyond the outermost signal conductors. The bent edge may embed a post 516 that may be formed as part of the insulative housing of the shield assembly. Such curved edges may provide mechanical support, such as for the cross-shields 308 at the ends of the columns of the mating portion 312 or ground blades from a mating connector intended to make contact with the cross-shields 308 at the ends of the columns. Alternatively or additionally, the curved edge of the left plate shield may be configured to contact a corresponding curved edge of the right plate shield.

The insulating member 510 may include insulating strips 206, which may extend in a direction parallel to the column direction. The insulating tape 206 may be attached to a surface of the ground plate shield (e.g., surface 508) that faces away from the signal conductor columns. The insulating member 510 may include posts 516, each of which extends in a direction parallel to the column direction and from an edge of the insulating tape. Each post may abut and/or be attached to a bent edge (e.g., bent edges 604a, 604b) of the mating end of the ground plate shield. The insulating member 510 may also include a plurality of spacers 322 extending substantially parallel to the two posts 516. Each spacer can be configured to hold a mating portion 312 of a pair of differential signal conductors. Each separator can have a wall. The spacer 322 and the wall 514 can abut and/or attach to a surface (e.g., surface 602) of the ground plate shield facing the signal conductor column. The wall 514 may isolate the mating portion 312 within the space 330 from the ground plate shield.

The lossy member 512 can include a rib 318 extending over the housing portion 518, and lossy portions 320a, 320b each extending substantially from the rib 318. The housing portion 518 may abut and/or be attached to a surface of the ground plate shield (e.g., surface 508) that faces away from the signal conductor columns. The rib 318 and lossy portions 320a, 320b can abut and/or be attached to a surface (e.g., surface 602) of the ground plate shield that faces the signal conductor columns. As shown in fig. 5, the lossy portion can be shaped as a horn extending along a cavity 520, which can be configured to receive a ground conductor.

It should be understood that the exploded views of fig. 5 and 6 are for illustrative purposes only. In some embodiments, the portions of the shield assembly may be manufactured separately and then assembled together. In some embodiments, the shield assembly may be formed by molding an insulating material and/or a lossy material onto the ground plate shield. For example, the insulative member 510 may be formed by insert molding any suitable insulative material onto the ground plate shield. The lossy member 512 may be formed by overmolding any suitable lossy material onto the ground plate shield. Thus, in some embodiments, the elements shown in fig. 5 and 6, respectively, to illustrate the shape of each element may not be formed separately.

Fig. 7 depicts an assembly process 700 that may be used to assemble a substrate (e.g., substrates 200, 200a, 200 b). Assembly process 700 may include first forming signal lead frame 302 and left and right shield assemblies 304 and 306, respectively. Left shield assembly 304 and right shield assembly 306 may then be placed on opposite sides of signal lead frame 302. The end of the mating portion 312 can be inserted into the space 330 of the spacer 322. The bottom plate of spacer 322 may have an opening into 330 to leave a flange that can hook over the end. Fig. 7 shows a shield assembly employing this configuration. The left and right shield assemblies may then be rotated in the direction of the arrows in fig. 7 to press against the surface of signal lead frame 302. Signal leadframe 302 and left and right shield assemblies 304, 306 may then be secured together, such as using latching features, adhesives, heat staking, or other suitable attachment mechanisms.

The assembly process may also include inserting the ground cross shields 308 in a direction parallel to the column direction. As described above, the ground cross shields may have features that engage ground conductors within signal lead frame 302. Alternatively or additionally, the ground cross shield 308 may be electrically connected to the shield plates, thereby providing an electrical connection between the left and right shield plates.

A ground cross shield may be interposed between the differential signal conductor pairs. Even in embodiments where the ground cross shields are not attached to the shield plates, the ground cross shields along with the left and right shield plates may form a shielding cage (e.g., housing 1102 in fig. 11A) around each pair of differential signal conductors at the mating ends.

Fig. 8 is a plan view 800 of the backplane connector 104 showing the mating interface 110 according to some embodiments. Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan view 900 of the encircled area 9A in fig. 8 in accordance with some embodiments. The backplane connector 104 may include a plurality of contact portions 802 arranged in columns and rows and held by a housing 808. Each contact portion may include an insulating spacer 922. Each spacer 922 may hold a pair of conductive elements 902 configured to have mating surfaces 924 facing outwardly of the openings in the spacers.

In the view of fig. 9, the distal tip of the conductive element can be seen in the opening of the separator 922. The opposite ends of the conductive element may be configured for attachment to the backplane. These mounting ends may be, for example, contact tails 404 as shown in fig. 4.

The spacers 922 and their internal conductive elements may be configured to mate with a daughter board connector (e.g., connector 102). The mating interface 110 may be configured to complement the mating interface 108 such that the backplane connector 104 mates with the daughter card 102. Thus, each of the contact portions 802 may be configured to face the spacer 322 of the daughter card connector 102. The posts of the contact portions may be arranged such that the conductive elements in adjacent contact portions face in opposite directions. Further, the contact portions may be offset with respect to each other in a direction perpendicular to the column direction. Adjacent conductive elements in adjacent contact portions may be substantially aligned in a line 810 extending at an acute angle to the shield plate 806. With this design, the conductive elements in adjacent contact portions can be spaced apart by a distance greater than the distance between adjacent contact portions in the column direction, thereby reducing crosstalk between pairs of signal conductors in adjacent contact portions.

Shield blades 804 may be positioned between adjacent contact portions and at both ends of the columns to further reduce crosstalk. Shield plates 806 may be positioned between adjacent columns. Shield plate 806 may include contact features 904 that extend out of the plane in which the shield plate extends. Examples of shield plates are shown in fig. 4 as backplane shield plates 402a, 402 b. Contact feature 406 is an example of contact feature 904. The shield blades 804 and shield plates 806 may substantially surround the signal conductors within each of the spacers 922.

Fig. 10A is a side view of the backplane connector 104 of fig. 8, partially cut away to show a cross-section along line 10A in fig. 8. The backplane connector 104 may include a plurality of conductive elements 1002 held by a housing 808 molded from an insulative material in this embodiment. The backplane connector 104 may include a plurality of contact tails 1004 at a mounting end of the conductive elements opposite the mating interface 110.

Fig. 10B is a perspective view of a shield plate 806 according to some embodiments. In the embodiment shown, shield 806 includes contact features 904 that, like the contact features on ground cross-shield 308, are formed by a collection of beams stamped from the same sheet metal used to form the body of shield 806. In this example, the contact features 904 are each formed from two beams, each beam attached at one end to the shield plate body and at the other end to the other beam, such that each contact feature 904 is V-shaped. The ends of these triangles bend out of the plane of the shield plate body and generate a reaction force when pressed back towards the shield plate body. Thereby, a contact force may be generated to mate with a conductive structure (such as the mating ends 316 of the shield assemblies 502a and 502b) alongside the shield plate 806. In the embodiment shown in fig. 10B, shield 806 has contact features 904 that are alternately bent into opposite sides of the plane of the shield body. Thus, the shield 806 may mate with two conductive structures, one on each side of the shield body.

The shield plate 806 may include features configured to connect the shield plate to a grounding structure on a printed circuit board on which the backplane connector 104 is mounted. In the embodiment of fig. 10B, engagement features 1005 are configured to engage with an edge of a flat metal piece. The engagement feature 1005 has two compliant portions that may be stamped from the same sheet metal as the shield body. The compliant portions are separated by a slot into which an edge of the metal sheets to be joined will be inserted. Such engagement features may form appropriate contacts and may similarly be used to engage the cross-shield 308 to a conductive element.

The metal strips, in turn joined by the joining features 1005, may include contact tails that attach to a printed circuit board. For example, engagement features 1005 may engage metal portions extending from shield blades 804 that include contact tails for attachment to ground structures in a printed circuit board. Alternatively or in addition, engagement features 1005 may engage a separate metal strip that is inserted into housing 808 and extends perpendicular to shield plate 806. These individual metal strips may include press fit or other contact tails.

Fig. 10C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the encircled area 10C in fig. 10A in accordance with some embodiments. Wall 1020 of housing 808 is visible in the view of fig. 10C. A trench 1022 is formed in wall 1020. The ends of the shield plates 806 may be anchored in the grooves 1022. The opposite ends of shield plate 806 may be anchored in similar grooves on the opposite wall of housing 808. Housing 808 may include a bottom panel 1024. The bottom edge of shield plate 806 may be anchored to base plate 1024.

Shield 806 may include contact features 904 that are seen in this view to bend out of the plane of the body of shield 806. The contact features may be long enough that they will bend when pressed back into the plane of the shield plate. The arms may be sufficiently resilient to provide a spring force when pressed back into the plane of the shield plate. The spring force generated by the arm may create a point of contact between the shield plate and a mating shield of a mating daughter card connector (e.g., ground shields 502a, 502b of daughter card connector 102). The resulting spring force is configured to be large enough to ensure contact points even after the daughter card connector is repeatedly mated and unmated from the backplane connector.

Fig. 10D is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the encircled area 10D in fig. 10A in accordance with some embodiments. A cross section through the back plate separator 922a can be seen in this view. Behind separator 922a is shield blade 804. Shield blade 804 is located between spacers 922a and 922 b.

In the illustrated embodiment, separation volume 922 extends from base plate 1024 and may be formed, for example, as part of a molding operation that forms housing 808. The distal tip of contact 902 is held by bracket 1030 of separation body 922 a. The contact portion 902 may be bent such that the contact surface 924 extends past the bracket 1030 such that it may make contact with a conductive element of a mating connector. The mating portion 312 in the daughter board connector may be similarly positioned within the spacer 322 for mating. Thus, when the connectors are mated, the conductive elements that serve as signal conductors within the separation volume 922 can contact the conductive elements that serve as signal conductors within the separation volume 322, thereby completing a signal path through the mated connectors.

Fig. 11A is a cut-away plan view along line 11A in fig. 1A according to some embodiments. In the example shown, a pair of signal conductors 1104 of the daughter card connector 102 mate with a corresponding pair of conductive elements 902 of the backplane connector 104 when the daughter card connector 102 mates with the backplane connector 104. The shield blades 804 of the backplane connector are interposed between the pair of lossy portions 320a and 320 b. In the example shown, the shield blades do not contact the lossy portion, but may be close enough to electrically couple thereto. However, it should be understood that in some embodiments, a portion of the shield blade may contact the lossy portion.

Fig. 11A also shows that the ground cross shield 308 may contact or be connected to at least one of the left and right ground plate shields 502a, 502 c. The housing 1102 may be formed around the signal conductor pairs with the ground conductors on at least a portion of all four sides surrounding the signal conductors. This housing may be in the mating area and may enter into both the daughter card connector and the backplane connector. Within the mating interface, the housing 1102 is formed by two adjacent ground cross shields connected with a left ground plate shield and a right ground plate shield. Spacers 322 and 922 may be located between the signal conductor and the housing. As described above in connection with fig. 3-6, the shields at the mating interface are brought into the daughter card connector with the left and right ground plate shields 502a, 502b adjacent intermediate portions of the signal conductors to separate the signal conductors in adjacent columns. Ground conductors within signal lead frame 302 coupled to ground cross shield 308 separate adjacent pairs within a column.

The signal conductors are also surrounded by shields within the backplane connector. The backplane shields 402a and 402b are positioned between adjacent columns. Shield blades 804 are positioned between adjacent pairs of signal conductors within a column. To bring the shields into the connector system, the backplane shield boards 402a and 402b are coupled to the ground plane shields 502a and 502b via contact features 904. Shield blades 804 are coupled to ground cross-shield 308 contact features 332.

Fig. 11B is a partial cross-sectional view along line 11B in fig. 11A according to some embodiments. Fig. 11B depicts two contact points 1106 and 1108 formed between the ground cross shield 308 and the shield blades 804 when the daughter card and backplane connectors are mated. The two contact points may be formed by contact features 332. Contact feature 332 may include an arm formed in a similar manner as contact feature 904. The arms of the contact features 332 of the ground cross-shield 308 may be generally Z-shaped, as shown in fig. 12A. The two turning points of the "Z" arm may be configured as contact points with a mating conductor (e.g., shield blade 804).

Fig. 12A and 12B are partial sectional views taken along line 12A in fig. 1A. Fig. 12A and 12B depict the daughter card connector and backplane connector in unmated and mated states, respectively. In the example shown, the ground cross shield 308 of the daughter card connector 102 makes contact with the shield blades 804 of the backplane connector 104 at two points 1104 and 1106 when the two connectors are mated. The lossy portions 320a and 320b define a space in which the shield blade 804 is inserted. Once inserted, the lossy portions 320a and 320b surround the distal end of the shield blades 804. In the illustrated embodiment, the lossy portions 320a and 320b define at least 30% of the perimeter of the shield blade 804 extending above the base plate 1024. However, in other embodiments, the lossy portion may define a longer or shorter portion of the perimeter, such as between 20% and 100%, or between 25% and 80%, or between 30% and 60%, according to some embodiments. The shield plate 402a of the backplane connector 104 contacts both the left ground plate shield 502a of the first submount 200a and the right ground plate shield 502c of the second submount 200 b.

While details of specific configurations of the conductive elements, the housing, and the shield member are described above, it should be understood that such details are provided for illustrative purposes only, as the concepts disclosed herein can be otherwise implemented. In this regard, the various connector designs described herein may be used in any suitable combination, as the aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific combination shown in the figures.

Having thus described several embodiments, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

Various changes may be made to the illustrative constructions shown and described herein. As a specific example of a possible variation, lossy material is described only in the daughter card connector. The lossy material can alternatively or additionally be incorporated into either connector of a mating pair of connectors. The lossy material may be attached to a ground conductor or shield, such as a shield in the backplane connector 104.

As an example of another variation, a connector may be configured for a heavily involved frequency range, which may depend on the operating parameters of the system in which such a connector is used, but may generally have an upper limit of between about 15GHz and 112GHz, such as 25GHz, 30GHz, 40GHz, 56GHz, or 112GHz, but may be heavily involved with higher frequencies or lower frequencies in some applications. Some connector designs may have an aggressive frequency range spanning only a portion of this range, such as 1 to 10GHz, or 3 to 15GHz, or 5 to 35 GHz.

The operating frequency range of the interconnect system may be determined based on the frequency range that can traverse the interconnect with acceptable signal integrity. Signal integrity can be measured according to a number of criteria, which depend on the design use of the interconnect system. Some of these standards may involve propagation of signals along single-ended signal paths, differential signal paths, hollow waveguides, or any other type of signal path. Two examples of such criteria are the attenuation of the signal along the signal path or the reflection of the signal from the signal path.

Other criteria may involve the interaction of multiple different signal paths. Such criteria may include, for example, near-end crosstalk, which is defined as a portion of a signal injected onto one signal path at one end of an interconnect system that is measurable on any other signal path at the same end of the interconnect system. Another such criterion may be far-end crosstalk, which is defined as a portion of a signal injected onto one signal path at one end of the interconnect system that is measurable on any other signal path at the other end of the interconnect system.

As a specific example, it may be desirable for the signal path attenuation to be no greater than 3dB power loss, the reflected power ratio to be no greater than-20 dB, and for the individual signal paths to contribute no greater than-50 dB to signal path crosstalk. Since these characteristics are frequency dependent, the operating range of the interconnect system is defined as the range of frequencies that meet specified criteria.

Described herein are designs of electrical connectors that improve signal integrity of high frequency signals, such as frequencies in the GHz range, including up to about 25GHz or up to about 40GHz, up to about 56GHz or up to about 60GHz or up to about 75GHz or up to about 112GHz or higher, while maintaining a high density, such as a spacing between adjacent mating contacts of about 3mm or less, for example including center-to-center spacing between adjacent contacts in a column between 1mm and 2.5mm or between 2mm and 2.5 mm. The spacing between the columns of mating contact portions may be similar, but does not require that the spacing between all of the mating contact portions in the connector be the same.

The manufacturing techniques may also vary. For example, an embodiment is described in which daughter card connector 600 is formed by organizing a plurality of substrates onto stiffener. Equivalent structures may be formed by inserting a plurality of shields and signal receptacles into a molded housing.

As another example, a connector formed from modules, each module including a pair of signal conductors, is described. Each module need not contain exactly one pair, or the number of signal pairs need not be the same in all modules of the connector. For example, a 2-pair or 3-pair module may be formed. Further, in some embodiments, core modules having two, three, four, five, six, or some greater number of rows in a single-ended or differential pair configuration may be formed. Each connector or each substrate in embodiments where the connectors are baselined may include such a core module. To manufacture a connector having more rows than included in the base module, additional modules (e.g., each additional module having a smaller number of pairs, such as a single pair per module) may be coupled to the core module.

Further, while many of the inventive aspects are shown and described with reference to a daughterboard connector having a right angle configuration, it should be understood that aspects of the present disclosure are not limited in this regard as any inventive concept may be used with other types of electrical connectors, such as backplane connectors, cable connectors, stack-up connectors, mezzanine connectors, I/O connectors, chip sockets, and the like, either alone or in combination with one or more other inventive concepts.

In some embodiments, the contact tails are shown as press-fit "eye of the needle" compliant sections designed to fit within vias of the printed circuit board. However, other configurations may also be used, such as surface mount elements, spring contacts, solderable pins, etc., as aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the use of any particular mechanism for attaching the connector to a printed circuit board.

The disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction or the arrangement of components set forth in the above description and/or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, and the concepts described herein can be otherwise practiced or carried out. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter (or equivalents thereof) and/or additional items.