High density connectors for superconducting applications

Abstract

The invention relates to a connector for electrically connecting a plurality of transmission lines to another component. The connector includes a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts on a surface of the ceramic body. Each contact is connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and the connector is configured to be electrically connected to the other component by connecting the contact of the connector to a contact on the other component. The invention also includes a high density attenuator or filter bank connectable to the connector, and a method for forming a connection using the connector.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to materials science. In particular, the present invention relates to ceramic-based materials suitable for various solutions in cryogenic environments and superconducting applications such as quantum information processing and quantum hardware. Background Art

[0002] The core of a superconducting QPU is a silicon or sapphire chip with a qubit structure made of superconducting metal on top. In a large QPU, the qubits will be arranged in a two-dimensional lattice. To route control signals to the middle of the lattice, wires need to be introduced from a direction perpendicular to the plane.

[0003] The wiring solution needs to meet several criteria simultaneously, including: high bandwidth (for certain signals), controlled impedance, low crosstalk, low dissipation, low microwave loss, shielding of qubit circuits from lossy materials, tight spacing compatible with the QPU unit cell and the number of signals per unit cell, high reliability, and the ability to replace the QPU.

[0004] Ceramic technology is well-known as a packaging solution for semiconductor wafers, such as solutions using a silicon substrate and multi-layer wiring with planarized dielectric materials. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This summary of the invention is provided to introduce a series of concepts further described below in the detailed description in a simplified form. This summary of the invention is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. The object of the present invention is to provide a novel material comprising ceramic and metal components, which provides superconducting properties in a functional ceramic substrate. The material can be manufactured by known manufacturing methods, for example, by using a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) green sheet or green tape or other substrates, depositing a mixture of a suitable metal and, for example, a polymer carrier as a layer thereon, and then pre-firing or drying; forming a functionalized layer on top of the pre-fired green sheet as needed, including, for example, physical two-dimensional or three-dimensional structures such as perforations, cavities, lines, etc., and finally pressing and firing to achieve a functionalized multi-layer structure, which can be used as a component for several different purposes, as described below.

[0006] This type of material has many beneficial properties, including high stiffness, conductivity, a coefficient of thermal expansion suitable for various applications, gas impermeability (due to the glassy composition after firing), and processability, to name just a few. It can also be conveniently used as a base layer or an intermediate layer for various purposes.

[0007] This solution meets all the engineering standards disclosed in the background art, while being relatively inexpensive and scalable to large substrate sizes (up to 6" or 15.24 cm) and a large number of wiring layers (up to 38 layers) using off-the-shelf processes. Note that compression springs require a large amount of force (typically 10 grams per contact), and a ceramic layer is required to avoid excessive bending of the chip stack, which would compromise the usability of the QPU and superconducting chips.

[0008] The problems solved by the present invention include:

[0009] - Vertical transfer of signals and signal fan-out from a dense pitch silicon TSV pad array to a conventional PCB

[0010] - Proposing a material with a CTE closer to silicon rather than a conventional PCB

[0011] - Higher signal-to-signal isolation than SiO2 / Si multi-layer wiring

[0012] - The stiffness of the rigid ceramic stack may allow for a reusable package using compression spring contacts and easy sample replacement -> enabling high-throughput good sample discovery.

[0013] The proposed technical solution and possible alternatives include a ceramic-based multi-layer (possibly 30 to 50 layers) interposer with indium-based solder contacts or spring contacts.

[0014] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a connector for electrically connecting a plurality of transmission lines to another component. The connector includes a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts located on the surface of the ceramic body. Each contact is connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and the connector is configured to be electrically connected to the another component by connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts on the another component.

[0015] Connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts on the another component may include soldering the contacts of the connector to the contacts on the another component.

[0016] The connector may further include one or more heating elements configured to generate sufficient heat to cause the solder located on the contacts to reflow. The one or more heating elements may be integrated into the ceramic body.

[0017] The connector may include a thermal sensor for measuring the heat generated by the heating element.

[0018] The connector may further include alignment features for aligning the connector with the another component. The alignment features limit the relative torques of the connector and the another component in at least three perpendicular directions.

[0019] The pitch between multiple contacts on the surface of the ceramic body can be less than 1 mm.

[0020] The transmission line can be a coaxial cable, and the center conductor of each coaxial cable can be connected to one of the multiple contacts.

[0021] Each coaxial cable can terminate within the ceramic body of the connector such that the center conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to a contact within the ceramic body, and wherein the contact includes a metal trace that extends at least in a longitudinal direction defined by the axis of the coaxial cable from the interior to the exterior of the ceramic body.

[0022] The contact can also extend in a vertical direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction such that the position of the contact on the exterior of the ceramic body is not aligned with the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

[0023] The shield layer of each coaxial cable can also be connected to one or more metal traces that extend from the interior to the exterior of the ceramic body, and each metal trace forms or is connected to one or more shield contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body, and the one or more shield contacts are adjacent to but do not contact the contact connected to the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

[0024] The one or more shield contacts can include at least two shield contacts, and the shield contacts are regularly arranged around and equidistant from the contact connected to the center conductor.

[0025] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a cable that includes: multiple transmission lines; a first connector as described above, which is located at a first end of the multiple transmission lines; and a second connector, which is at a second end of the multiple transmission lines.

[0026] A third aspect of the present invention relates to a high-density attenuator or filter bank that includes: a ceramic body; a first plurality of contacts that are located on the surface of the ceramic body; a second plurality of contacts that are located on the surface of the ceramic body; and a plurality of filters and / or attenuators that are connected to the first plurality of contacts and the second plurality of contacts such that each contact in the first plurality of contacts is connected to a contact in the second plurality of contacts via one or more of the filters and / or attenuators.

[0027] The high-density attenuator or filter bank can be connected to the above-described connector such that each contact in the first plurality of contacts or the second plurality of contacts of the high-density attenuator or filter bank is connected to a contact in the contacts located on the surface of the ceramic body of the connector.

[0028] A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for connecting a plurality of transmission lines to another component using a connector, the connector comprising a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts located on the surface of the ceramic body, wherein each contact is connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and wherein connection elements are present on each contact of the connector and / or corresponding contacts on the other component. The method includes aligning the contacts of the connector with the contacts of the other component and connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component using the connection elements.

[0029] The connection elements can be solder bumps. The connector can include one or more heating elements, and connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component can include using the one or more heating elements to generate sufficient heat to cause the solder to reflow.

[0030] The connector can further include one or more thermal sensors for measuring the heat generated by the one or more heating elements, and the heat generated by the one or more heating elements can be controlled based on measurements obtained using the one or more thermal sensors.

[0031] Before soldering the contacts, the method further includes removing oxides from the solder bumps.

[0032] Before soldering the contacts, the method can further include placing a sheath housing around the contacts and filling the space enclosed by the sheath housing with a reducing gas and / or an inert gas to minimize or prevent oxidation of the solder during soldering of the contacts.

[0033] Aligning the contacts of the connector with the contacts of the other component can be performed using alignment features present on the connector and the other component.

[0034] A clamping mechanism can be used to fix the connector and the other object during the soldering process.

[0035] The connection elements can be indium bumps, and connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component can include performing a pressure bond using the indium bumps.

[0036] The other component can be a second connector, the second connector comprising a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts located on the surface of the ceramic body, wherein each contact is connected to one of a second plurality of transmission lines. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 Depicts a conventional manufacturing method for a ceramic functional layer.

[0038] Figure 2 Depicts a schematic QPU or chip stack with an interlayer made of a superconducting material.

[0039] Figure 3Depicts a connector according to the present invention.

[0040] Figure 4A is Figure 3 a cross-section of the connector.

[0041] Figure 4B Shows Figure 4A the connector arrangement at the bottom of the connector.

[0042] Figure 5 Depicts a connector and a high-density ceramic filter / attenuator bank.

[0043] Figure 6 Depicts the "pigtail" connection of two connectors. Detailed Description

[0044] The present invention includes the general idea of using ceramic materials as components in a chip (such as a superconducting chip including at least one QPU), similar to a conventional semiconductor chip on a printed circuit board. Since the ceramic material can be made superconducting as described above, it is particularly suitable for superconductors, for example, in a quantum computer with a quantum processing unit QPU.

[0045] In essence, the ceramic material can be made superconducting by including a suitable superconducting (metal) material in its composition, for example, by introducing the superconducting material into a slurry coating the LTCC green body substrate material or sheet, and manufacturing a ceramic multilayer structure via conventional manufacturing methods known in the art (see Figure 1 ) For example, introducing a metal material onto a green sheet with a suitable binder component (such as a polymer) in the slurry, and firing the resulting composition to provide a single superconducting ceramic material body. The superconducting material can be, for example, aluminum-based, or can contain niobium, molybdenum, or tungsten. In particular, the latter two may be suitable due to their high melting points. Such a composed ceramic material or even a ceramic material with a suitable metal layer provides a low-loss wiring structure within a chip layer (such as an interposer in a chip stack) made of the material. The superconducting ceramic material is amorphous and has almost no resonance. As an alternative to LTCC, high-temperature co-fired ceramics (HTCC) can be used, as well as tungsten, molybdenum, niobium (e.g., niobium nitride), and / or titanium (e.g., titanium nitride) based metal pastes or slurries.

[0046] The resulting superconducting ceramic material can be freely modified, for example, by machining it into a desired shape or structure, having cavities, wiring channels (vertical or horizontal), inlays, or any other suitable structure within, on, or through the material layer.

[0047] Niobium-based superconducting ceramic materials are used in various superconducting applications. For example, it is fully compatible with any currently known flip-chip configuration, and many more configurations can be envisioned. Aluminum nitrate is also a possible superconducting component that can be used. A printed circuit board made of the superconducting ceramic material according to the present invention can be used as a base layer for a superconducting chip stack that includes a large number of qubits on a QPU layer, because relatively large PCBs can be fabricated due to the stiffness of the ceramic material. In this way, a QPU stack including >1000 qubits can be fabricated.

[0048] The ceramic material according to the present invention can be used as an interlayer in a superconducting QPU stack (see Figure 2 ) to provide structural integrity to a stack that includes a dielectric insulating layer on top of the QPU and the printed circuit board (PCB). Control lines for transmitting signals and the required electrical components can be embedded in or pass through the ceramic interlayer that is bonded to the QPU chip layer, for example, by indium bumps, as is known for flip-chip type QPUs according to the prior art. According to the present invention, by using so-called vias, multiple electronic lines can pass through the ceramic interlayer, similar to common silicon chip layers where silicon crystal vias are used for this purpose, without compromising the structural integrity of the ceramic interlayer. Thereafter, the stacks of different layers can be pressed together to form a stacked superconducting element or chip by pressing on the ceramic interlayer rather than on the fragile QPU or flip-chip layer. On the PCT, heat connectors or equivalents can be used to route control lines outside the chip stack. Thus, the stacks can be aligned and pressed together to connect to the heat connector pins without damaging the structurally fragile parts or layers of the stack. The ceramic interlayer can also be used to transmit signals via lines embedded in the lateral direction of the interlayer. Thus, essentially, the ceramic interlayer can be a functional structure rather than a mechanical structure.

[0049] Alternatively or additionally, the chip stack is a wiring stack that has spring contact pins (‘spring pins’ or ‘pogo pins’) at one interface in the stack and indium or cryogenic solder contacts at the other interface of the stack, and the ceramic layer is used to route electrical signals between the two interfaces.

[0050] The interlayer stack is as Figure 2As shown. The components from top to bottom are as follows. 1) QPU chip (labeled "QPU" in the sketch). 2) First interposer ("I.P."), which is a silicon chip with through-silicon vias and superconducting patterned metallization on both sides. 3) Ceramic wiring layer ("Ceramic"). 4) Second interposer ("I.P2"). 5) Conventional printed circuit board ("PCB"). The electrical contacts at the QPU-I.P. and Ceramic-I.P. interfaces are implemented as indium or low-temperature solder balls or bumps. The electrical contacts between the ceramic layer and the PCB layer are implemented as compression springs embedded in IP2. The ceramic layer is pressed down by an annular clamp (using F-type clamp force) not shown.

[0051] Multiple variations are possible. The PCB layer can be replaced by a block with coaxial wires terminated therein (similar to the ArdentTR interface). The compression springs can be conventional solder joints.

[0052] Superconducting ceramic materials can be used in the environmentally controlled encapsulation of the QPU in a vacuum. For example, a suitable gas can be introduced into the cavity surrounding the QPU to prevent oxidation and degradation of the QPU structure over time. In Figure 5 it, such a construction is presented in an exemplary manner. It includes a ceramic encapsulation structure or stack where the base layer is machined to form a suitable cavity for the QPU together with the top layer, and channels are coated in the metal to form suitable outputs for the control lines to control the environment inside the QPU cavity. The control can include elements such as absorbents (such as activated carbon, zeolite, or one of palladium or palladium composites) and molecular sieves for absorbing harmful substances with a molecular size smaller than a specific size. In addition, the control lines can be used to equalize the temperature inside the package.

[0053] Superconducting ceramic materials can also be used in ceramic-based high-density transmission line (e.g., microwave) connector applications, such as for guiding signals from a room-temperature environment to a cryostat or between different temperature zones of a cryostat. Figure 3 A ceramic-based high-density connector 100 is depicted for electrically connecting multiple transmission lines 102 to another component 110. The other component can be a quantum processing unit (QPU) as depicted in Figure 3 or any other component that desires to connect multiple transmission lines. The connector 100 can also be used to connect to a similar connector of another pigtail configuration. In this document, the term "connector" means a component for connecting multiple transmission lines to another component, including both removable / reversible connections and permanent connections. Similarly, the term "connection" means a fixed connection or a temporary connection, including but not limited to soldering, contact pins, snap buttons, and compression indium bumps.

[0054] The connector 100 has a ceramic body 101, which can be made of the above-mentioned superconducting ceramic material. The superconducting ceramic material enables a significant reduction in the size of the connector. For example, in a connector that is equivalent in size to a multi-position high-frequency connector (e.g., an Ardent connector), hundreds of lines can be achieved instead of the 24 lines of the Ardent connector.

[0055] The transmission lines 102 can be implemented by commercially available nano-scale or pico-scale coaxial cables. Such cables can be arranged in a grid, such as a 50×50 or 100×100 lateral configuration.

[0056] The connector is connected to another component via contacts 103, which can be, for example, contact pads, contact pins, or any other suitable elements for providing an interface for the electrical connection between the transmission lines of the connector and the corresponding contacts on another component 110. Figure 4A and Figure 4B Specific embodiments of the connector 103 are depicted in

[0057] In the case where the transmission lines 102 are provided by coaxial cables, the central conductor of each coaxial cable can be connected to a single corresponding contact on another component, and additional contacts can be provided for connecting the shielding layer of each cable to the corresponding contact on that other component, for example, for connecting the shielding layer to ground or the shielding layer of another coaxial cable. The connector of the present invention can be used with other types of cables, such as twinaxial cables.

[0058] In Figure 4A a cross-section of an exemplary connector is presented. The connector body 201 is a machined ceramic material, such as the above-mentioned superconducting ceramic material, having a suitable size and shape to allow use with different multi-wire connector solutions. The transmission lines 202 are located within mechanical openings in the connector body 201. In the example depicted in FIG. 4, the transmission lines 202 are coaxial cables, such as pico coaxial cables with an outer diameter in the range of 0.25 μm to 0.4 μm. The coaxial cable 202 includes an inner core (i.e., the central conductor 204) and an outer shielding layer 209, and the inner core extends through the body 201 to the surface of the body 201 opposite the surface where the coaxial cable enters. Each coaxial cable terminates within the ceramic body 201 of the connector, where the central conductor 204 is connected to a metal trace that extends from the central conductor to the outside of the ceramic body 201, where it forms or is connected to a contact 203. The metal trace extends at least partially in a longitudinal direction that is aligned (and optionally coaxial) with the central conductor of the coaxial cable 204. The metal trace can extend in a straight line from the central conductor 204 to the outside of the ceramic body 201, as Figure 4AAs shown, or it can follow an indirect path from the central conductor 204 to the exterior of the ceramic body, i.e., with one or more sections extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the central conductor 204. Thus, the arrangement (e.g., spacing) of the contacts 203 on the outer surface 201 of the ceramic body can be different from the arrangement of the coaxial cables entering the ceramic body. This can be particularly advantageous for reducing the spacing of the contacts 203 compared to the spacing of the coaxial cables 202, which may have a relatively large lower limit due to the physical size of each coaxial cable 202.

[0059] The shield layer 209 of each coaxial cable can also be connected to metal traces 208a, 208b that extend from the shield layer to the exterior of the ceramic body 201, and the shield layer also terminates inside the ceramic body 201 where they form or connect to shield contacts. Similar to the metal traces / contacts 203 connected to the central conductor 204, the metal traces 208a, 208b extend at least partially in the longitudinal direction aligned with the central conductor of the coaxial cable 204. The metal traces can extend from the shield layer 209 to the exterior of the ceramic body 201 in a straight line, as Figure 4A shown, or they can follow an indirect path from the shield layer 209 to the exterior of the ceramic body, i.e., with one or more sections extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the central conductor 204. Each of the metal traces 208a, 208b can follow a parallel or symmetric path, or the paths can be different. Thus, the shield contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body 201 can be closer to the contacts 203 connected to the central conductor 204, allowing the spacing of the contacts to be closer than the spacing of the coaxial cables entering the ceramic body 201.

[0060] Figure 4B An example of the contact arrangement on the outer surface of the ceramic body 201 is shown. The contacts 203 connected to the central conductor 204 of the coaxial cable 202 are surrounded by contacts 208a - f that are connected to the shield layer 209 of the coaxial cable 202. The contacts 208a - f are preferably all equidistant from the contact 203 and are regularly arranged around the contact 203.

[0061] As Figure 4A and Figure 4B an alternative to the example depicted, the contact corresponding to the contact 103 described above with respect to Figure 3 is only the exposed end 203 of the central conductor 204, but other contacts can also be used. A stop can be present at the end of the opening in the body 201. The stop can have an opening large enough for the central conductor of the coaxial cable to pass through, but not the rest of the cable body. The hole in the body 201 through which the coaxial cable passes can have metallized sidewalls 205 to prevent crosstalk or other interference in the transmission line 202.

[0062] The transmission line 202 can be fixed in place in the body 201 by an adhesive 206 or other fixing means (e.g., solder or epoxy).

[0063] The body 201 may also include alignment features 207 for aligning the connector with another component to which the connector is to be connected. For example, the connector shown in FIG. 4 includes alignment holes 207 for receiving alignment pins extending from another component. Generally, the alignment features at least partially restrict relative movement between the connector and other components to which the connector is connected. Preferably, the relative movement is restricted in three perpendicular directions, i.e., towards and / or away from another component and in two perpendicular directions perpendicular to the towards / away axis. The alignment features may allow automatic planarization of the contacts on the connector and another component and thus achieve uniform separation between the connector and another component. In other words, the relative tilt between the connector and other components can also be controlled by the alignment features.

[0064] The above-described connector can be used as a cryogenic alternator between different temperature zones of a cryostat, thereby enabling efficient signal transmission through wires implemented using a connector based on a superconducting ceramic material. For example, a cable formed using the above-described connector can be used to provide signal lines traveling to and from different temperature zones of a cryostat all the way to a QPU, and alternatively or additionally, provide signal lines traveling to and from the cryostat to a room-temperature environment. This will significantly reduce the space occupied by wiring and cable laying and also reduce the thermal load from the signal lines. Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 5 where a first connector 300a is connected to a QPU, and a second connector 300b (connected to the first connector 300a at the other end of the cable) is connected to another component, such as a high-density ceramic filter / attenuator bank. This other component may be located, for example, in the mixing chamber of a cryostat and may be at the interface between different temperature zones of the cryostat. On the other side of this component, for example, in different temperature zones of the cryostat, a third connector 300c is connected and used to further carry the transmission line to a higher temperature stage of the cryostat.

[0065] Figure 6 An exemplary arrangement is shown where two connectors are connected in a "pigtail" type arrangement, i.e., the connectors join two sections or wirings together rather than connecting the wiring to a fixed component. Each connector has a body 401a, 401b that includes alignment features 402a, 402b as discussed above with respect to FIG. 4. The connectors are joined together by solder balls 404 (e.g., indium balls). In Figure 6In the depicted example, each connector also includes heating elements 403a, 403b for generating sufficient heat to cause solder located on the contacts of the connector to reflow. The use of heating elements enables a durable, high-quality connection between connectors and also allows for forming and breaking without a large number of external devices or processes. The heating elements (303a, 303b) can be integrated into the ceramic bodies 401a, 401b of each connector to provide a uniformly distributed heat across the contacts. The connector may also include one or more thermal sensors for measuring the heat generated by the heating elements 403a, 403b. The output of the sensors can be used to control the heat generated by the heating elements 403a, 403b to ensure sufficient but not excessive heat is generated.

[0066] The present invention also relates to a method of connecting a plurality of transmission lines to another component using the above-described connector. In a first step, the contacts of the connector are aligned with the contacts of another component. Aligning the contacts of the connector with the contacts of another component can be performed using alignment features present on one or both of the connector and the other component, as described above. In the context of a superconducting quantum computer, the quantum processing unit is installed inside a cryostat that is capable of generating and maintaining the cryogenic temperature required for the superconducting effects utilized by the superconducting quantum computer. Thus, many of the installation steps in the normal installation process are performed inside the cryostat, such as connecting signal lines between different temperature zones of the cryostat and ultimately connecting these signal lines to the QPU. The connector and method of the present invention simplify the method of installing and commissioning a superconducting quantum computer. In particular, the construction of the connector itself can be performed in a different environment, i.e., outside the cryostat, where a wider range of manufacturing techniques can be used, such as wet or dry processes that may damage the cryostat, e.g., surface preparation using an atmospheric plasma system or plasma cleaning with a reducing gas (e.g., hydrogen, carbon monoxide) to achieve oxide removal. It may only be necessary to perform the final step of connecting the connector to one or more other components inside the cryostat, in which case

[0067] an inert gas chamber / local glove box can be provided around the cryostat.

[0068] After alignment, the contacts of the connector are connected to the contacts of another component using a connecting element. As discussed above, "connecting" can be performed by any suitable method for forming an electrical connection between the transmission line of the connector and the contacts of another component, including but not limited to soldering, pressure bonding, pogo pins, and spring pins.

[0069] The connector and / or another component includes a plurality of connecting elements that are present on each contact of the connector and / or the corresponding contacts on another component.

[0070] When the connecting element is a solder bump and the connector includes one or more heating elements as described above, connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of another component is performed using one or more heating elements to generate sufficient heat to cause the solder to reflow. The thermal sensor for measuring the heat generated by one or more heating elements described above can be used to control the heat generated by one or more heating elements.

[0071] Prior to soldering the contacts, the method further includes a step of removing oxides from the solder bump. This step can include placing a sheath housing around the contacts and filling the space enclosed by the sheath housing with a reducing gas and / or an inert gas to minimize or prevent oxidation of the solder during soldering of the contacts.

[0072] A clamping mechanism can be used to fix the connector and another object during the soldering process. The clamping mechanism can be part of the alignment feature, such as a jack screw, or can be a separate component. The clamping mechanism can also be used when other types of connections are used, such as providing compression for pressure bonding using indium bumps, or keeping the pogo pins / spring pins in contact.

Claims

1. A connector (100) for electrically connecting a plurality of transmission lines (102) to another component (110), the connector comprising a ceramic body (101) and a plurality of contacts (103) located on a surface of the ceramic body, wherein each contact is connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and wherein the connector is configured to be electrically connected to the another component by connecting the contacts of the connector to contacts on the another component (110).

2. The connector (100) according to claim 1, wherein connecting the contacts (103) of the connector to contacts on the another component (110) comprises soldering the contacts of the connector to contacts on the another component.

3. The connector (100) according to claim 2, wherein the connector further comprises one or more heating elements (303a, 303b) configured to generate sufficient heat to cause solder located on the contacts to reflow.

4. The connector (100) according to claim 3, wherein the one or more heating elements (303a, 303b) are integrated into the ceramic body (101).

5. The connector (100) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the connector further comprises a thermal sensor for measuring the heat generated by the heating elements (303a, 303b).

6. The connector (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connector further comprises alignment features (302a, 302b) for aligning the connector with the another component (110), wherein the alignment features limit the relative torque of the connector and the another component in at least three perpendicular directions.

7. The connector (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pitch of the plurality of contacts on the surface of the ceramic body (101) is less than 1 mm.

8. The connector (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmission line (102) is a coaxial cable (202), and wherein the center conductor (204) of each coaxial cable (202) is connected to one of the plurality of contacts.

9. The connector (100) according to claim 8, wherein each coaxial cable terminates within the ceramic body (101) of the connector such that the center conductor (204) of the coaxial cable is connected to a contact (203) within the ceramic body, and wherein the contact comprises a metal trace that extends at least in a longitudinal direction defined by the axis of the coaxial cable from the interior to the exterior of the ceramic body.

10. The connector (100) according to claim 9, wherein the contact 203 also extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction such that the position of the contact (203) on the exterior of the ceramic body is not aligned with the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

11. The connector (100) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the shielding layer (209) of each coaxial cable is connected to one or more metal traces (208a-f) extending from the interior of the ceramic body to the exterior of the ceramic body, each metal trace forming or connecting to one or more shielding contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body, the one or more shielding contacts being adjacent to but not in contact with the contacts (203) connected to the central conductor of the coaxial cable.

12. The connector (100) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the one or more shielding contacts include at least two shielding contacts, and wherein the shielding contacts are regularly arranged around and equidistant from the contacts connected to the central conductor.

13. A cable, comprising: A plurality of transmission lines (102) ； A first connector according to any one of the preceding claims, the first connector at a first end of the plurality of transmission lines; and a second connector according to any one of the preceding claims, the second connector at a second end of the plurality of transmission lines.

14. A high-density attenuator or filter bank, comprising: A ceramic body; A first plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body; A second plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body; and a plurality of filters and / or attenuators connected to the first plurality of contacts and the second plurality of contacts such that each contact in the first plurality of contacts is connected to a contact in the second plurality of contacts via one or more of the filters and / or attenuators.

15. The high-density attenuator or filter bank according to claim 14, wherein the high-density attenuator or filter bank is connected to a connector according to any one of claims 1 to 14 such that each contact in the first plurality of contacts or the second plurality of contacts of the high-density attenuator or filter bank is connected to one of the contacts located on the surface of the ceramic body of the connector.

16. A method for connecting a plurality of transmission lines (102) to another component using a connector (100), the connector including a ceramic body (101) and a plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body, wherein each contact is connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and wherein connection elements are present on each contact of the connector and / or corresponding contacts on the other component (110), the method comprising: Aligning the contacts of the connector with the contacts of the other component; And Connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component using the connection elements.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the connection elements are solder bumps, and the connector (100) includes one or more heating elements (303a, 303b), and wherein connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component (110) includes using the one or more heating elements to generate sufficient heat to cause the solder to reflow.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the connector (100) further comprises one or more thermal sensors for measuring the heat generated by the one or more heating elements (303a, 303b), and wherein the heat generated by the one or more heating elements is controlled based on measurements obtained using the one or more thermal sensors.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein prior to soldering the contacts, the method further comprises removing oxides from the solder bumps.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein prior to soldering the contacts, the method further comprises placing a sheath housing around the contacts and filling the space enclosed by the sheath housing with a reducing gas and / or an inert gas to minimize or prevent oxidation of the solder during soldering of the contacts.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein aligning the contacts of the connector (100) with the contacts of the other component (110) is performed using alignment features (302a, 302b) present on the connector and the other component.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein a clamping mechanism is used to fix the connector (100) and another object during the soldering process.

23. The method according to claim 16, wherein the connecting element is an indium bump, and wherein connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component (110) comprises pressure bonding using the indium bump.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the other component (110) is a second connector, the second connector comprising a ceramic body (101) and a plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body, wherein each contact is connected to one of a second plurality of transmission lines.

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