High density connectors for superconducting applications

Abstract

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 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 another component by connecting the connector's contacts to contacts on the other component. The present invention also includes a high-density attenuator or filter bank that can be connected to the connector, and a method for forming a connection using the connector.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] The heart of a superconducting QPU is a silicon or sapphire chip with a qubit structure made of superconducting metal on it. In large QPUs, the qubits are arranged in a two-dimensional lattice. To route control signals to the center of the lattice, wires must be drawn in perpendicular to the plane.

[0003] The wiring solution must simultaneously meet several criteria, including high bandwidth (for some signals), controlled impedance, low crosstalk, low dissipation, low microwave loss, shielding of the qubit circuitry from lossy materials, tight pitch to match the dimensions of the QPU unit cell and the number of signals per unit cell, high reliability, and the ability to replace the QPU.

[0004] Ceramic technology as a packaging solution for semiconductor dies is generally well known, for example in solutions using silicon substrates and multi-level interconnects using planarized dielectric materials. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary 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. It is an object of the present invention to provide novel materials comprising a ceramic and a metallic component that imparts superconducting properties to a functionalized ceramic substrate. The materials can be fabricated using known manufacturing methods, for example, by utilizing a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) base or green sheet or other substrate on which a mixture of a suitable metal and, for example, a polymeric carrier is deposited as a layer and then pre-fired or dried; functionalization layers are optionally developed on the pre-fired green sheet, including, for example, two- or three-dimensional physical structures such as trough vias, cavities, routes, etc., and finally pressed and fired to achieve a functionalized multilayer structure that can be utilized as a component for multiple different purposes, as disclosed below.

[0006] This type of material has many beneficial properties, including high stiffness, conductive properties, a thermal expansion coefficient suitable for various applications, impermeability to gases (due to its glass-like composition after firing), and machinability, to name a few, and can be easily used as a base layer or interposer layer for a variety of purposes.

[0007] This solution meets all of the design criteria disclosed in the background section while being relatively inexpensive and scalable to large substrate sizes (up to 6 inches or 15.24 cm) and many wiring layers (up to 38 layers), using readily available processes. Note that the compressible springs require a significant amount of force (typically 10 grams per contact), and the ceramic layers are required to avoid extensive warping of the chip stack, which would compromise the usefulness of the QPU and superconducting chip.

[0008] The problem(s) solved by the present invention include the following: - Vertical delivery and fan-out of signals from dense pitch silicon TSV pad arrays to conventional PCBs -Proposing a material with a CTE closer to silicon than conventional PCBs -Higher signal isolation than SiO2 / Si multi-layer wiring The rigidity of the hard ceramic stack may allow for reusable packaging and the use of compressible spring contacts for easy sample exchange, thereby enabling good sample discovery at high throughput. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] Proposed technical solutions and possible alternatives include ceramic-based multi-layer (possibly 30-50 layers) interposers with indium-based solder or spring contacts.

[0010] 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 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 contacts of the connector to contacts on the other component.

[0011] Connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts on the other component may include soldering the contacts of the connector to the contacts on the other component.

[0012] The connector may further include one or more heating elements configured to generate heat sufficient to reflow solder located on the contacts, and the one or more heating elements may be integrated into the ceramic body.

[0013] The connector may include a heat sensor for measuring the heat generated by the heating element.

[0014] The connector may further comprise alignment features for aligning the connector with another component, the alignment features constraining relative moments between the connector and the other component in at least three perpendicular directions.

[0015] The pitch of the contacts on the surface of the ceramic body may be less than 1 mm.

[0016] The transmission lines may be coaxial cables, and the center conductor of each coaxial cable may be connected to one of a plurality of contacts.

[0017] Each coaxial cable may 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, the contact comprising a metal trace extending from the interior of the ceramic body to the exterior of the ceramic body in at least a longitudinal direction defined by the axis of the coaxial cable.

[0018] The contacts may also extend vertically, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, such that the location of the contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body is not aligned with the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

[0019] The shield of each coaxial cable may also be connected to one or more metal traces that extend from the interior of the ceramic body to the exterior of the ceramic body, each metal trace forming or connected to one or more shield contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body, the one or more shield contacts adjacent to but not in contact with the contacts that are connected to the center conductors of the coaxial cables.

[0020] The one or more shield contacts may include at least two shield contacts, and the shield contacts may be arranged regularly around the contact connected to the center conductor and equidistant from the contact connected to the center conductor.

[0021] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a cable comprising a plurality of transmission lines, a first connector as described above located at first ends of the plurality of transmission lines, and a second connector located at second ends of the plurality of transmission lines.

[0022] A third aspect of the present invention relates to 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 and 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.

[0023] A high-density attenuator or filter bank may be connected to the above described such that each contact of either 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.

[0024] A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for connecting a plurality of transmission lines to another component using a connector comprising a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body, each contact being connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and a connecting element being present on each contact of the connector and / or a corresponding contact on the other component, the method including 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 connecting element.

[0025] The connecting elements may be solder bumps. The connector may include one or more heating elements, and connecting contacts of the connector to contacts of the other component may include using the one or more heating elements to generate sufficient heat to reflow the solder.

[0026] The connector may further comprise one or more thermal sensors for measuring heat generated by the one or more heating elements, and the heat generated by the one or more heating elements may be controlled based on measurements obtained using the one or more thermal sensors.

[0027] Prior to soldering the contacts, the method further includes removing oxide from the solder bumps.

[0028] Prior to soldering the contacts, the method may further include placing a jacket enclosure around the contacts and filling the space enclosed by the jacket enclosure with a reducing gas and / or an inert gas to minimize or prevent oxidation of the solder when soldering the contacts.

[0029] 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.

[0030] A clamping mechanism can be used to secure the connector to other objects during soldering.

[0031] The connecting elements may be indium bumps, and connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component may involve compression bonding using the indium bumps.

[0032] The other component may be a second connector comprising a ceramic body and a plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body, each contact being connected to one of a second plurality of transmission lines. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] 1 shows a conventional method for manufacturing a ceramic functional layer. [Figure 2] 1 shows a schematic QPU or chip stack with an interposer layer made of superconducting material. [Figure 3]1 shows a connector according to the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 3. [Figure 4B] 4B shows the arrangement of the connectors on the bottom of the connector of FIG. 4A. [Figure 5] Connectors and high density ceramic filter / attenuator banks are shown. [Figure 6] Shows the "pigtail" connection of two connectors. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] The present invention includes the general concept of utilizing ceramic materials as components within chips, such as superconducting chips containing at least one QPU, similar to conventional semiconductor chips on a printed circuit board. Because ceramic materials can be made superconducting as described above, they are particularly well suited for use as superconductors in quantum computers having, for example, quantum processing units (QPUs).

[0035] Essentially, ceramic materials can be made superconducting by including a suitable superconducting (metallic) material in their composition, for example, by incorporating the superconducting material into a slurry, coating an LTCC green base material or sheet, and fabricating a ceramic multilayer structure therefrom via conventional fabrication methods known in the art (see FIG. 1 ), for example, by incorporating a metallic material onto a green sheet in a slurry with a suitable binder, such as a polymer, and firing the resulting composition to provide a single body of superconducting ceramic material. This superconducting material may be, for example, aluminum-based or may contain niobium, molybdenum, or tungsten. The latter two may be particularly preferred due to their high melting points. Ceramic materials of such compositions, or even ceramic materials with a suitable metallic layer, provide low-loss routing structures within chip layers fabricated with this material, such as interposer layers within a chip stack. Superconducting ceramic materials are amorphous and substantially resonance-free. As an alternative to LTCC, high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) can be used with metal pastes or slurries based on tungsten, molybdenum, niobium (eg, niobium nitride), and / or titanium (eg, titanium nitride).

[0036] The resulting superconducting ceramic material can be freely modified by machining it into a desired shape or structure, for example, with cavities, routing channels (either vertical or lateral), inlays, or any other suitable structure within, on, or through the material layer.

[0037] Niobium-based superconducting ceramic materials are used in a variety of superconducting applications. For example, they are fully compatible with any currently known flip-chip structure, and many more are envisioned. Aluminum nitrate is also a potential superconducting component that can be used. Printed circuit boards made from the superconducting ceramic material of the present invention can be used as a base layer for superconducting chip stacks containing a large number of qubits on the QPU layer, as the rigidity of the ceramic material allows for the fabrication of relatively large PCBs. In this way, it may be possible to fabricate QPU stacks containing more than 1,000 qubits.

[0038] The ceramic material according to the present invention can be used as interposer layer(s) in a superconducting QPU stack (see FIG. 2 ) to provide structural integrity to a stack including a QPU and dielectric insulating layers on a printed circuit board (PCB). Signal and control lines carrying necessary electrical components can be embedded or routed through ceramic interposer layer(s) bonded to the QPU chip layer, for example, by indium bumps, as known from state-of-the-art flip-chip QPUs. By using so-called through-vias, similar to common silicon chip layers where through-silicon vias are utilized for this purpose, several electronic lines can be routed through the ceramic interposer layer according to the present invention without compromising the structural integrity of the ceramic interposer layer. The stack of different layers can then be pressed together to form a laminated superconductor element or chip by pressing the ceramic interposer layer instead of the fragile QPU or flip-chip layer. On the PCB, ardent connectors or equivalent can be used to direct the control lines to the outside of the chip stack. Thus, the stack can be aligned and pressed together to connect with the ardent connector pins without destroying structurally weaker portions or layers of the stack. The ceramic interposer layer can also be used to route signals via lines embedded laterally in the interposer layer. Thus, in essence, the ceramic interposer layer can be a functional structure rather than a mechanical structure.

[0039] Alternatively or additionally, the chip stack is a wiring stack with spring contact pins ("pogo pins" or "fuzz buttons") at one interface in the stack and indium or low-temperature solder contacts at another interface in the stack, and a ceramic layer is used to route electrical signals between the two interfaces.

[0040] The interposer stack is shown in Figure 2. From top to bottom, the components are: 1) the QPU chip ("QPU" in the sketch), 2) the first interposer ("IP"), which is a silicon chip with through-silicon vias and superconducting patterned metallization on both sides, 3) the ceramic wiring layer ("ceramic"), 4) the second interposer ("I.P2"), and 5) a conventional printed circuit board ("PCB"). Electrical contacts at the QPU-IP and ceramic-IP interfaces are realized as indium or low-temperature solder balls or bumps. Electrical contacts between the ceramic and PCB layers are realized as compressible springs embedded in IP2. The ceramic layer is pressed down (with a force F clamp) by a torus-shaped clamp (not shown).

[0041] Many variations are possible: the PCB layer can be replaced by a block where the coaxial wires terminate (similar to the Ardent TR interface); the compressible spring can be a regular solder joint.

[0042] Superconducting ceramic materials can be used for vacuum environmental control packaging of QPUs. For example, a suitable gas can be introduced into the cavity around the QPU to prevent oxidation and degradation of the QPU structure over time. Figure 5 exemplarily illustrates such a structure. It includes a ceramic packaging structure or stack with a base layer machined to form a suitable cavity for the QPU together with a top layer, and metal-coated channels to form suitable outputs for control lines to control the environment within the QPU cavity. The control may include elements such as absorbents (such as activated carbon, zeolite, or one of palladium or palladium complexes) and molecular sieves to absorb harmful substances smaller than a certain molecular size. Furthermore, the control lines can be used to equalize the temperature within the package.

[0043] Superconducting ceramic materials can also be utilized in ceramic-based high-density transmission line (e.g., microwave) connector applications, such as for directing signals from a room-temperature environment to a cryostat or between different temperature zones of a cryostat. FIG. 3 shows a ceramic-based high-density connector 100 for electrically connecting multiple transmission lines 102 to another component 110. The other component may be a quantum processing unit (QPU), as shown in FIG. 3, or any other component to which it may be desirable to connect multiple transmission lines. The connector 100 may also be used to connect to another similar connector in a pigtail-type configuration. In this context, the term "connector" refers to a component for connecting multiple transmission lines to another component and includes both removable / reversible and permanent connections. Similarly, the term "connection" refers to either a fixed or temporary connection, including, but not limited to, soldering, contact pins, fuzz buttons, and compressed indium bumps.

[0044] Connector 100 has a ceramic body 101 that may be made of the superconducting ceramic materials described above. Superconducting ceramic materials allow for significant reductions in connector dimensions. For example, a multi-position high frequency connector, such as a connector dimensionally equivalent to an Ardent connector, can accommodate hundreds of lines instead of the 24 lines of the Ardent connector.

[0045] The transmission lines 102 may be realized by commercially available nanoscale or picoscale coaxial cables, which may be arranged in a grid, for example a 50x50 or 100x100 lateral structure.

[0046] The connector connects to other components via contacts 103, which may be, for example, contact pads, contact pins, or any other elements suitable for providing an interface for an electrical connection between transmission lines of the connector and corresponding contacts on the other components 110. A particular embodiment of the connector 103 is shown in Figures 4A and 4B.

[0047] If the transmission lines 102 are provided by coaxial cables, the center conductor of each coaxial cable may be connected to a single corresponding contact on the other component, and additional contacts may be provided to connect the shield of each cable to a corresponding contact on the other component, for example, to connect the shield to ground or to the shield of another coaxial cable. The connector of the present invention can be used with other types of cables, for example, twin-axial cables.

[0048] FIG. 4A presents a cross section of an exemplary connector. The connector body 201 is a machined ceramic material, such as the superconducting ceramic material described above, with a suitable size and shape to allow for use with different multi-wire connector solutions. The transmission lines 202 are disposed within the machined openings in the connector body 201. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the transmission lines 202 are coaxial cables, e.g., pico-coaxial cables, having an outer diameter in the range of 0.25 to 0.4 μm. The coaxial cables 202 include an inner core, or center conductor 204, that extends through the body 201 to the surface of the body 201 opposite the surface where the coaxial cables enter, and an outer shield 209. Each coaxial cable terminates within the ceramic body 201 of the connector, where the center conductor 204 is connected to a metal trace that extends from the center conductor to the exterior of the ceramic body 201, where the metal trace forms or is connected to a contact 203. The metal trace extends at least partially in a longitudinal direction aligned with (and optionally coaxial with) the center conductor of the coaxial cable 204. The metal trace may extend linearly from the center conductor 204 to the exterior of the ceramic body 201, as shown in FIG. 4A , or may follow an indirect path from the center conductor 204 to the exterior of the ceramic body, i.e., have one or more sections extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the center conductor 204. In this manner, the arrangement (e.g., pitch) of the contacts 203 on the exterior surface 201 of the ceramic body may differ from the arrangement of the coaxial cables 202 entering the ceramic body. This may be particularly advantageous for reducing the pitch of the contacts 203 compared to the pitch of the coaxial cables 202, which may have a larger lower limit due to the physical size of each coaxial cable 202.

[0049] The shield 209 of each coaxial cable may also be connected to metal traces 208a, 208b, which similarly extend from the shield terminating inside the ceramic body 201 to the exterior of the ceramic body 201 where they form or connect to a shield contact. Like the metal trace / contact 203 connected to the center conductor 204, the metal traces 208a, 208b extend at least partially in a longitudinal direction aligned with the center conductor of the coaxial cable 204. The metal traces may extend in a straight line from the shield 209 to the exterior of the ceramic body 201, as shown in FIG. 4A , or they may follow an indirect path from the shield 209 to the exterior of the ceramic body, i.e., have one or more sections extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the center conductor 204. Each of the metal traces 208a, 208b may follow parallel or symmetrical paths, or the paths may be different. In this way, the shield contacts on the exterior of ceramic body 201 can be closer to contacts 203 connected to center conductor 204, allowing the contact pitch to be closer than the pitch of the coaxial cable entering ceramic body 201.

[0050] 4B shows an example of the arrangement of contacts on the outer surface of ceramic body 201. Contact 203 connected to center conductor 204 of coaxial cable 202 is surrounded by contacts 208a-f connected to shield 209 of coaxial cable 202. Contacts 208a-f are preferably all equidistant from contact 203 and regularly spaced around contact 203.

[0051] 4A and 4B, the contact corresponding to contact 103 described above with respect to FIG. 3 is simply the exposed end 203 of center conductor 204, although other contacts may be used. A stop may be present at the end of the opening in body 201. The stop may have an opening large enough for the center conductor of the coaxial cable to pass through, but not the remainder of the body of the cable. The hole in body 201 through which the coaxial cable passes may have metalized sidewalls 205 to prevent crosstalk or other interference in transmission line 202.

[0052] The transmission line 202 may be held in place within the body 201 by adhesive 206 or other fastening means, such as solder or epoxy.

[0053] The body 201 may also include alignment features 207 for aligning the connector with another component to which the connector is connected. For example, the connector shown in FIG. 4 includes alignment holes 207 for receiving alignment pins extending from the other component. Generally, the alignment features at least partially constrain relative movement between the connector and the other component to which the connector is connected. Preferably, the relative movement is constrained in three perpendicular directions: toward and / or away from the other component, and two perpendicular directions perpendicular to the approach / separation axis. The alignment features can enable automatic flattening of contacts on the connector and the other component, thus enabling uniform separation between the connector and the other component. In other words, the relative tilt between the connector and the other component can also be controlled by the alignment features.

[0054] The connectors described above can be used as cryogenic alternators between different temperature zones of a cryostat, enabling efficient transmission of signals through electrical lines realized through superconducting ceramic material-based connectors. For example, cables formed using the connectors described above can be used to provide signal lines between different temperature zones of a cryostat to a QPU, or alternatively or additionally, to provide signal lines between the cryostat and a room temperature environment. This significantly reduces the space occupied by wiring and cabling and also reduces the thermal load from the signal lines. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 5, where a first connector 300a is connected to the QPU, and a second connector 300b, connected to the first connector 300a at the other end of the cable, is connected to an additional component, such as a high-density ceramic filter / attenuator bank. This additional component may be located, for example, within the mixing chamber of the cryostat or at the interface between different temperature zones of the cryostat. A third connector 300c is connected to the other side of this component, for example to a different temperature zone of the cryostat, and is used to carry further transmission lines to higher temperature stages of the cryostat.

[0055] FIG. 6 shows an example arrangement in which two connectors are connected in a “pigtail” type arrangement, i.e., the connectors join two sections or wires together rather than connecting the wires to a fixed component. Each connector has a body 401a, 401b including alignment features 402a, 402b, as described above with respect to FIG. 4. The connectors are joined together by solder balls 404, e.g., indium balls. In the example shown in FIG. 6, each connector also includes a heating element 403a, 403b for generating sufficient heat to reflow solder located on the connector contacts. The use of heating elements enables durable, high-quality connections between the connectors while also being formable and destructible without extensive external equipment or processes. The heating elements (303a, 303b) may be incorporated into the ceramic body 401a, 401b of each connector to provide evenly distributed heat across the contacts. The connectors may also include one or more thermal sensors for measuring the heat generated by the heating elements 403a, 403b. The output of the sensor(s) may be used to control the heat generated by the heating elements 403a, 403b to ensure that sufficient, but not excessive, heat is generated.

[0056] The present invention also relates to a method for connecting multiple transmission lines to another component using the connector described above. In a first step, contacts of the connector are aligned with contacts of the other component. Aligning the contacts of the connector with the contacts of the other 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 superconducting quantum computers, quantum processing units are installed in cryostats that can generate and maintain the extremely low temperatures necessary for the superconducting effect utilized in superconducting quantum computers to occur. Therefore, it is common for many installation steps to be performed within the cryostat, such as connecting signal lines between different temperature zones of the cryostat and ultimately connecting those signal lines to the QPU. The connector and method of the present invention simplify this 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 be damaging to the cryostat, e.g., atmospheric plasma system surface pretreatment or plasma cleaning with reducing gases (e.g., hydrogen, carbon monoxide) for oxide removal. Only the final step of connecting the connector to one or more other components may need to be performed inside the cryostat, in which case an inert chamber / local glove box can be provided around the cryostat.

[0057] After alignment, the contacts of the connector are connected to the contacts of the other component using connecting elements. As mentioned above, "connecting" may be performed by any suitable method for forming an electrical connection between the transmission lines of the connector and the contacts of the other component, including, but not limited to, soldering, compression bonding, fuzz buttons, and pogo pins.

[0058] The connector and / or other component includes several connected elements present on each contact of the connector and / or corresponding contact on the other component.

[0059] If the connecting elements are solder bumps and the connector includes one or more heating elements as described above, connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component is performed using the one or more heating elements to generate heat sufficient to reflow the solder. The thermal sensors described above for measuring the heat generated by the one or more heating elements may be used to control the heat generated by the one or more heating elements.

[0060] Prior to soldering the contacts, the method further includes removing oxides from the solder bumps, which step may include placing a jacket enclosure around the contacts and filling the space enclosed by the jacket enclosure with a reducing gas and / or an inert gas to minimize or prevent oxidation of the solder when soldering the contacts.

[0061] A clamping mechanism can be used to secure the connector to another object during soldering. The clamping mechanism may be part of an alignment feature, such as a jack screw, or a separate component. The clamping mechanism may also be used when other types of connections are used, such as to provide compression for compression bonding using indium bumps or to hold fuzz buttons / pogo 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, each contact being connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, the connector being configured to be electrically connected to the other component (110) by connecting the contacts of the connector to contacts on the other component.

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

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

4. The connector (100) of claim 3, wherein the one or more heating elements (303a, 303b) are embedded in the ceramic body (101).

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

6. 10. The connector (100) of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising alignment features (302a, 302b) for aligning the connector with the other component (110), the alignment features constraining relative moments of the connector and the other component in at least three perpendicular directions.

7. 10. The connector (100) of 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. 10. The connector (100) of claim 1, wherein the transmission lines (102) are coaxial cables (202), and a center conductor (204) of each coaxial cable (202) is connected to one of the plurality of contacts.

9. 9. The connector (100) of 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 the contact (203) within the ceramic body, the contact comprising a metal trace extending from the interior of the ceramic body to the exterior of the ceramic body in at least a longitudinal direction defined by the axis of the coaxial cable.

10. 10. The connector (100) of claim 9, wherein the contacts (203) also extend in a vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction such that the positions of the contacts (203) on the exterior of the ceramic body are not aligned with the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

11. 11. The connector (100) of claim 9 or 10, wherein a shield (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 connected to one or more shield contacts on the exterior of the ceramic body, the one or more shield contacts adjacent to but not touching the contact (203) connected to the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

12. 11. The connector (100) of claim 9 or 10, wherein the one or more shield contacts comprise at least two shield contacts, the shield contacts being regularly arranged around the contact connected to the center conductor and equidistant from the contact connected to the center conductor.

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

14. 1. 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 and 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. 15. A high-density attenuator or filter bank as claimed in claim 14, wherein the high-density attenuator or filter bank is connected to a connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 such that each contact of either 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. 1. A method for connecting a plurality of transmission lines (102) to other components using a connector (100) comprising a ceramic body (101) and a plurality of contacts located on a surface of the ceramic body, each contact being connected to one of the plurality of transmission lines, and a connecting element being present on each contact of the connector and / or a corresponding contact 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 connecting element.

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

18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the connector (100) further comprises one or more thermal sensors for measuring heat generated by the one or more heating elements (303a, 303b), and 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 of any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the method further comprises removing oxides from the solder bumps before soldering the contacts.

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

21. The method of 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 of any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein a clamping mechanism is used to secure the connector (100) and other objects during soldering.

23. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the connecting elements are indium bumps, and connecting the contacts of the connector to the contacts of the other component (110) comprises compression bonding using the indium bumps.

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

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