Growing demand for high-speed transmission

As electronic devices become more sophisticated and complex, the amount of information in electrical signals to be connected by connectors is increasing with the times. In other words, the frequency of electrical signals is increasing, and along with that, what is called the "length" wavelength of electrical signals is getting shorter and shorter.
What this means is that signals are more affected by smaller or shorter transmission lines.
As a result, the same problems that once occurred with telephone line transmission in units of km are now occurring in units of meters in the Heisei era, and in the order of millimeters in the current Reiwa period. Just as we used to pay attention to board traces, wires and cables, we now need to pay more attention to smaller components like connectors.
 

Compatibility of mechanism and transmission characteristics

Here, a connector has a "mechanism", so it has a more complicated structure than a wire or board trace.
​Floating Connector, which I explained earlier, inevitably have a particularly complicated structure.
For high-speed electrical signals, it is easier to achieve high performance if the structure is simple, especially for the metal parts that serve as lines.
Therefore, even with such a complicated structure, how to achieve performance that can withstand high-speed transmission is a manifestation of technological strength.
 

Signal integrity and connectors

Against the background of such high-speed signal transmission, the concept of ensuring signal integrity and signal integrity has spread since about 20 years ago.
Putting it in the concept of signal integrity, a connector realizes the function of receiving a part of the budget and connecting.

From the exit of the driver to the receiver as shown, there are many factors to consider for signal integrity.

One of them is the performance of the connector, so in cases where the budget is not clearly divided by standards, etc., it is not strictly necessary to determine the corresponding transmission speed based on the performance of the connector alone.
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that it will be easier for customers to choose if there is a "reference", so in order to be fair, we will publish our own definition along with its technical background, so that each connector can handle it. I have a data rate.
We are starting this effort with Board to Board Connectors and FPC / FFC Connectors.

 

What supports the development of high-speed transmission compatible products

Of course, to undertake this kind of endeavor, we need products that support high-speed transmission.
To produce these, know-how such as evaluation, analysis, and simulation is important.
At IRISO, in addition to evaluating various parameters in the frequency and time domains, measuring approximate fields, and measuring bit error rates, we also offer a full range of electromagnetic field and circuit simulations, as well as evaluation simulations of the mechanisms and machines that are paired with these.
By combining such actual evaluations with simulations and accumulating feedback we have received from customers, we are forming the foundation for developing products compatible with high-speed transmission.
Please see here for our high-speed transmission initiatives and products.