Two-piece interposer

Abstract

An electrical connector, such as an interposer, for a high density of high-speed interconnects. Conductive elements, configured as signal conductors, are held in multiple contact regions of an insulative housing. The contact regions are separated with gaps between them. An insert with may have regions inserted into the gaps. In some examples, the insert includes conductive elements in the regions. In some examples, at least portions of the insert may be conductive, supporting conduction in a direction parallel to the conductive elements extending through the insulative housing. The insert, for example, may have an insulative or lossy substrate with a conductive plating or may be formed from die cast metal. When the insert includes conductive elements, they may be electrically coupled to the conductive portion of the insert.

Description

TWO-PIECE INTERPOSERCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 636,187, filed April 19, 2024, and titled “TWO-PIECE INTERPOSER,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This patent application relates generally to interconnection systems and more particularly to systems with interposers that provide multiple electrical connections between components, including sockets providing multiple connections between a semiconductor chip and a printed circuit board.BACKGROUND

[0003] Electronic systems are frequently assembled by integrating components that each performs specific functions, such as processors, memories, transceivers or other communications interfaces. Such an approach enables different component manufacturers to specialize in the design and manufacture of their components, leading to better performing components. Further, using the same components in multiple electronic systems enables mass production of each component, which provides economies of scale.

[0004] Interconnections between components in an electronic system are often provided by a printed circuit board (PCB), which contains multiple layers of conductive structures, including signal traces that can pass electrical signals from one location on the printed circuit board to another. Connections may be made to the conductive structures inside the PCB using holes, drilled fully or partially through the board and then plated with metal. These plated holes, sometimes called vias, are electrically connected to conductive structures within the board through which the holes pass. Connection points on the components, sometimes called leads, might also be connected to the vias, completing a connection between the component and the traces or other conductive structures in the PCB. Connection between leads of the component and the vias might be made, for example, by inserting the lead into the via or by forming a pad on the surface of the PCB on top of the via and connecting the lead to the pad.

[0005] Connections between the lead on the component and the via may be made in various ways, such as by using solder or by shaping the contact to generate a spring force on the via or a pad attached to the via. In some systems, a component may be attached to a PCB througha socket. The socket has contacts that are connected at a mounting portion to the vias on the PCB and mating portions at the other end that are connected to leads on a component. In some instances, the lead on the component may be a pad on a surface of the component and the mating portions of the contacts of the socket may be compliant so that they exert a force against the pads when the component is pressed into the socket. The socket may include structures to hold the component in the socket and press it against the mating portions of the contacts.

[0006] A socket may include an interposer, which is a component that can make multiple connections between a printed circuit board and a component pressed against the interposer. Interposers may be made with molded plastic housings and metal contacts inserted in channels in the housing. Some interposers are attached to printed circuit boards with solder balls attached to the mounting portions of the contacts and the interposer may be attached to the PCB in a reflow solder operation. In other interposers, the mounting portions of the contacts are compliant such that they press against pads on a surface of the PCB. The structures that press the component against the mating portions of the contacts may also ensure that the interposer is pressed against the PCB so that the mounting portions of the contacts are compressed and generate a desired contact force.

[0007] The contacts in the interposer are frequently positioned in an array with mounting portions aligned with pads on the PCB and mating portions aligned with pads on the component being connected to the PCB. Each contact may carry a signal or be connected to ground. The pattern of the contacts in the array, and their function as signal or ground conductors, may be selected to provide good integrity of signals passing through the interposer. Signal carrying contacts, for example, may be positioned between ground contacts. Also, the signal carrying contacts may be positioned in pairs that carry differential signals. However, constraints, such as the position or function of the pads on the PCB or on the component pressed into the interposer may preclude an arbitrary positioning of signal and ground contacts.SUMMARY

[0008] Embodiments of an electrical connector including an electrically conductive insert configured to provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for signals carried by the electrical connector are described herein.

[0009] In accordance with some embodiments, an electrical connector may comprise a plurality of signal contacts, an insulative housing supporting the plurality of signal contactsseparated from one another by a plurality of gaps, an electrically conductive insert disposed in the plurality of gaps, and a plurality of ground contacts held in the electrically conductive insert.

[0010] In accordance with some embodiments, an electrically conductive insert may comprise an insulative substrate comprising a plurality of contact regions, each contact region comprising a contact slot extending in a first direction formed therein, wherein the plurality of contact regions are separated in directions perpendicular to the first direction such that the plurality of contact regions are separated by gaps, and electrically conductive plating on surfaces of the insulative substrate bordering the gaps.

[0011] In accordance with some embodiments, an interposer may comprise an insulative housing comprising a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, a plurality of signal contact slots extending through the insulative housing from the first surface to the second surface, and a plurality of gaps separating ones of the plurality of signal contact slots, a plurality of signal contacts disposed in the plurality of signal contact slots, each signal contact comprising a first compressible end exposed at the first surface and a second compressible end exposed at the second surface, and an insert having a plurality of electrically conductive members disposed in the plurality of gaps, respectively, to provide a return path for electrical signals carried by the plurality of signal contacts.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic assembly including an interposer, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 3 A is a top perspective view of an example interposer including a conductive insert, which may be used in an electronic assembly as illustrated in FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0016] FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3 A;

[0017] FIG. 4A is an exploded top perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3 A;

[0018] FIG. 4B is an exploded bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3 A;

[0019] FIG. 5 A is a top perspective view of the conductive insert of the interposer of FIG. 3A;

[0020] FIG. 5B is a bottom perspective view of the conductive insert of FIG. 5 A;

[0021] FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of the insulative member of the interposer of FIG. 3A;

[0022] FIG. 6B is a bottom perspective view of the insulative member of FIG. 6A;

[0023] FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of a contact of the interposer of FIG. 3 A;

[0024] FIG. 7B is a rear perspective view of the contact of FIG. 7A;

[0025] FIG. 8 is a side view of the contact of FIG. 7A compressed between a first conductive pad on a first substrate and a second conductive pad on a second substrate, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0026] FIG. 9A is a top perspective view of an alternative example interposer including a conductive insert, which may be used in an electronic assembly as illustrated in FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0027] FIG. 9B is a bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 9A;

[0028] FIG. 10A is an exploded top perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 9A;

[0029] FIG. 10B is an exploded bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 9A;

[0030] FIG. 11 A is a top perspective view of the conductive insert of the interposer of FIG. 9A;

[0031] FIG. 1 IB is a bottom perspective view of the conductive insert of FIG. 11 A;

[0032] FIG. 12A is a top perspective view of the insulative member of the interposer of FIG. 9A; and

[0033] FIG. 12B is a bottom perspective view of the insulative member of FIG. 12A.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The inventors have developed techniques that facilitate miniaturization of high density electrical connectors configured to support high speed signals. Some techniques relate to integrating one or more electrically conductive components into a dense array of contacts in a electrical connector, such as an interposer. The electrically conductive components may be inserted into an insulative housing of the electrical connector that also holds contacts of the connector. The electrically conductive component may be shaped to provide desirable electrical properties that enable signals to pass through the connector with high integrity, such as a desirable impedance, electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for signals carried by the electrical connector. Such techniques, for example, may provide low crosstalkbetween conductors carrying separate signals, and may facilitate dense and robust arrangements of signal conductors in an electrical connector with high performance.

[0035] The insulative housing of the electrical connector may be formed with gaps in locations in which conductive material may improve the integrity of signals passing through the connector, such as by providing shielding between contacts and / or positioning ground conductors relative to signal contacts for close and uniform signal to ground coupling. An electrically conductive insert may be shaped to fit within the gaps. Such an insert may enable fine control of spacing between the conductive insert and the signal conductors, even within a dense array. For example, the inset may be shaped to provide one or more cavities, each with conductive walls positioned at least partially around a single-ended signal conductor or a differential pair of signal conductors. Such an insert may be formed by plating a plastic component with a conductive material and / or die-cast metal. In some embodiments, an electrically conductive insert may be disposed within gaps of an insulative housing of an electrical connector such that one or more portions of the insert collectively at least partially surround signal conductors held by the insulative housing. For example, some or all of the regions of the insulative housing holding signal conductors designated for carrying high speed signals may have gaps on multiple sides such that the gaps in the housing may at least partially surround those signal conductors. In an example in which regions of the conductive housing holding signal conductors are separate in a row direction, a gap may be on each side of the region in the row direction and on each side of the region in a direction orthogonal to the row direction. In this way, there may be gaps on four sides of a region of the insulative housing holding one or more signal conductors. At least partially surrounding individual signal conductors or individual pairs of signal conductors of the connector with conductive material in this manner provides a desirable impedance profile and low crosstalk with respect to other signal conductors or pairs of signal conductors in the connector, facilitating implementation of miniaturized and / or high density electrical connectors, even for high speed signals for which crosstalk can be sufficiently large to limit high speed operation of conventional connectors.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic assembly 100 including an interposer 120, in accordance with some embodiments. In FIG. 1, electronic assembly 100 further includes a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 140 and another electronic component 150. In some embodiments, first and second substrates 110 and 140 may be part of respective electronic components. For example, first substrate 110 may be a PCB (e.g., a motherboard) and second substrate 140 may be a semiconductor card (e.g., a processor card). In sucharrangements, interposer 120 may be a portion of a chip socket including mounting hardware attached to substrate 110 (not shown for simplicity of illustration). Alternatively, second substrate 140 may also be a PCB or a connector carrying cables connected to a device positioned outside electronic assembly 100.

[0037] In electronic assembly 100, the electrical interface of first substrate 110 is in a plane parallel to the plane of the electrical interface of second substrate 140. In the example of FIG. 1, second substrate 140 includes pads 142 formed on a first surface 144 of second substrate 140 that faces first substrate 110, and first substrate 110 includes pads 112 formed on a first surface 114 of first substrate 110 that faces second substrate 140, where the first surface 144 of second substrate 140 is parallel to the first surface 114 of first substrate 110. During operation, pads 142 are electrically connected to pads 112 via interposer 120.

[0038] The separation between the first and second substrates 110 and 140, and consequently, the thickness of interposer 120 (in the direction separating first and second substrates 110 and 140), may be sufficiently large to allow electronic component 150 to fit near interposer 120 between first and second substrates 110 and 140. In some embodiments, electronic component 150 has a height in excess of 1.8 mm. Electronic component 150 may include, for example, a bank of memory cards or may be a connector terminating a plurality of cables carrying signals that pass through interposer 120 to components on second substrate 140. In some embodiments, the lateral extension of second substrate 140 is such that electronic component 150 lies at least partially between first and second substrates 110 and 140 (e.g., with second substrate 140 at least partially covering electronic component 150). In these embodiments, in order to ensure a reliable connection between first and second substrates 110 and 140, interposer 120 (and, consequently, contacts 130) should be designed to be taller than electronic component 150 in the direction separating first and second substrates 110 and 140.

[0039] Interposer 120 may be mounted to first substrate 110 (using posts, bolts, latches, or other hardware not shown for simplicity), and electrical connections may be formed via spring-loaded contact arms of contacts 130. For example, the spring-loaded contact arms may be exposed at a first surface of interposer 120 that faces first substrate 110. Latching structures (not shown in FIG. 1) may retain interposer 120 in place on first substrate 110, thereby allowing the spring-loaded contact arms of contacts 130 to produce a force towards first substrate 110. Further, spring-loaded contact arms of contacts 130 may be exposed at a second surface of interposer 120 that faces second substrate 140, and second substrate 140 may be pressed toward the second surface. Electronic assembly 100 may include posts, bolts,latches, or other hardware (not shown in FIG. 1) to hold second substrate 140 to the interposer 120 and to press the second substrate 140 against the exposed spring-loaded contact arms of the contacts 130. In some embodiments, the spring-loaded contact arms of the contacts 130 of the interposer 120 that face second substrate 140 may be compliant and may exert a force against pads 142 when second substrate 140 is pressed against the interposer 120. Similarly, the spring-loaded contact arms of the contacts 130 of the interposer 120 that face first substrate 110 may be compliant and may exert a force against pads 112 when first substrate 110 is pressed against the interposer 120.

[0040] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of interposer 120. Interposer 120 includes an insulative member 122 serving as the interposer housing. Insulative member 122 includes a first surface 124 and a second surface 126, which opposes first surface 124. Insulative member 122 holds a plurality of contacts 130, which may be arranged in an array, here shown as a rectangular array with rows and columns, for example. Each contact 130 includes a first mating portion 132 that is exposed at first surface 124 and a second mating portion 134 that is exposed at second surface 126. Being exposed outside the interposer housing, the first mating portions 132 allow for electrical connections with substrate 110 and, similarly, the second mating portions 134 allow for electrical connections with substrate 140. Insulative member 122 may include contact slots through which the bodies of the contacts 130 are passed and retained.

[0041] In some embodiments, each contact 130 of an interposer 120 may provide two (or more) parallel conductive paths electrically connecting a pad 112 with a pad 142. Providing multiple parallel conductive paths may reduce the overall contact inductance and the overall contact resistance and short out electrical stubs that would otherwise be formed by the distal portions of the contact arms, thereby improving signal integrity.

[0042] FIG. 3 A is a top perspective view of an example interposer 200 including a conductive insert 230, which may be included in the electronic assembly 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3 A.

[0043] In some embodiments, interposer 200 may be included in electronic assembly 100 in the manner described herein for interposer 120. For example, interposer 200 may be mountable to a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) and configured for electrically connecting pads on the first substrate to pads on a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140). As shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, interposer 200 includes an insulative member 210, which may serve together with conductive insert 230 as the housing of interposer 200. In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may serve as an insulative housing of interposer 200 with conductive insert 230inserted into insulative member 210 to provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for interposer 200, as described further herein. Also shown in FIGs. 3 A-3B, interposer 200 includes contacts 250, including signal contacts 252 supported by (e.g., disposed in slots of) insulative member 210 and ground contacts 254 held in (e.g., disposed in slots in) conductive insert 230.

[0044] In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may be formed using an insulative material such as molded plastic. In some embodiments, the slots of insulative member 210 in which signal contacts 252 are disposed may extend through insulative member 210. For example, as shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, insulative member 210 includes first surface 212 and second surface 214 opposite first surface 212, and signal contacts 252 are exposed in the slots at first surface 212 and second surface 214. In some embodiments, contacts 250 of interposer 200 may be arranged in an array. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 A, contacts 250 are arranged in an array along row direction 202 and column direction 204 perpendicular to row direction 202. In some embodiments, the array may have a row dimension (in row direction 202) of less than 5 millimeters (mm), such as less than 2 mm, and / or less than 1 mm. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the array may have a column dimension (in column direction 204) of less than 5 mm, such as less than 2mm, and / or less than 1 mm. In some embodiments, contacts 250 of interposer 200 may have a center-to-center spacing in row direction 202 and / or column direction 204 of less than 1 mm apart, such as 0.8 mm apart, 0.7 mm apart, 0.6 mm apart, 0.5 mm apart, or 0.4 mm apart.

[0045] In some embodiments, ground contacts 254 of interposer 200 may be disposed between adjacent ones of signal contacts 252. For example, ground contacts 254 may be disposed between adjacent signal contacts 252 in row direction 202 and / or column direction 204. As shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, ground contacts 254 are disposed between adjacent signal contacts 252 in each of row direction 202 and column direction 204, forming a ground- signal-ground (GSG) pattern in each direction.

[0046] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be formed using electrically conductive material. As one example, conductive insert 230 may include die-cast metal, such as formed using one or more die-cast metal parts. As another example, the electrically conductive material may include electrically conductive plating, such as on exterior surfaces of an insulative substrate within conductive insert 230. According to various embodiments, the insulative substrate may be molded from plastic and then externally lined (e.g., partially or entirely) with electrically conductive plating, such as using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), particle vapor deposition (PVD), and / or laser direct structuring (LDS).

[0047] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may include at least partially lossy material. For example, in some embodiments in which conductive insert 230 includes an insulative substrate plated and / or lined with electrically conductive material, the insulative substrate may include at least partially lossy dielectric material interior to the electrically conductive material to dampen electromagnetic energy in undesired resonant modes.

[0048] Any suitable lossy material may be used for these and other structures that are “lossy.” Materials that conduct, but with some loss, or material which by another physical mechanism absorbs electromagnetic energy over the frequency range of interest are referred to herein generally as "lossy" materials. Electrically lossy materials can be formed from lossy dielectric and / or poorly conductive and / or lossy magnetic materials. Magnetically lossy material can be formed, for example, from materials traditionally regarded as ferromagnetic materials, such as those that have a magnetic loss tangent greater than approximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The "magnetic loss tangent" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex electrical permeability of the material. Practical lossy magnetic materials or mixtures containing lossy magnetic materials may also exhibit useful amounts of dielectric loss or conductive loss effects over portions of the frequency range of interest. Electrically lossy material can be formed from material traditionally regarded as dielectric materials, such as those that have an electric loss tangent greater than approximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The "electric loss tangent" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex electrical permittivity of the material. Electrically lossy materials can also be formed from materials that are generally thought of as conductors, but are either relatively poor conductors over the frequency range of interest, contain conductive particles or regions that are sufficiently dispersed that they do not provide high conductivity or otherwise are prepared with properties that lead to a relatively weak bulk conductivity compared to a good conductor such as copper over the frequency range of interest.

[0049] Electrically lossy materials typically have a bulk conductivity of about 1 Siemen / meter to about 10,000 Siemens / meter and preferably about 1 Siemen / meter to about 5,000 Siemens / meter. In some embodiments material with a bulk conductivity of between about 10 Siemens / meter and about 200 Siemens / meter may be used. As a specific example, material with a conductivity of about 50 Siemens / meter may be used. However, it should be appreciated that the conductivity of the material may be selected empirically or through electrical simulation using known simulation tools to determine a suitable conductivity that provides a suitably low crosstalk with a suitably low signal path attenuation or insertion loss.

[0050] Electrically lossy materials may be partially conductive materials, such as those that have a surface resistivity between 1 / square and 100,000 / square. In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material has a surface resistivity between 10 / square and 1000 / square. As a specific example, the material may have a surface resistivity of between about 20 / square and 80 / square.

[0051] In some embodiments, electrically lossy material is formed by adding to a binder a filler that contains conductive particles. In such an embodiment, a lossy member may be formed by molding or otherwise shaping the binder with filler into a desired form. Examples of conductive particles that may be used as a filler to form an electrically lossy material include carbon or graphite formed as fibers, flakes, nanoparticles, or other types of particles. Metal in the form of powder, flakes, fibers or other particles may also be used to provide suitable electrically lossy properties. Alternatively, combinations of fillers may be used. For example, metal plated carbon particles may be used. Silver and nickel are suitable metal plating for fibers. Coated particles may be used alone or in combination with other fillers, such as carbon flake. The binder or matrix may be any material that will set, cure, or can otherwise be used to position the filler material. In some embodiments, the binder may be a thermoplastic material traditionally used in the manufacture of electrical connectors to facilitate the molding of the electrically lossy material into the desired shapes and locations as part of the manufacture of the electrical connector. Examples of such materials include liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and nylon. However, many alternative forms of binder materials may be used. Curable materials, such as epoxies, may serve as a binder. Alternatively, materials such as thermosetting resins or adhesives may be used.

[0052] Also, while the above-described binder materials may be used to create an electrically lossy material by forming a binder around conducting particle fillers, the invention is not so limited. For example, conducting particles may be impregnated into a formed matrix material or may be coated onto a formed matrix material, such as by applying a conductive coating to a plastic component or a metal component. As used herein, the term "binder" encompasses a material that encapsulates the filler, is impregnated with the filler or otherwise serves as a substrate to hold the filler.

[0053] Preferably, the fillers will be present in a sufficient volume percentage to allow conducting paths to be created from particle to particle. For example, when metal fiber is used, the fiber may be present in about 3% to 40% by volume. The amount of filler may impact the conducting properties of the material.

[0054] Filled materials may be purchased commercially, such as materials sold under the trade name Celestran® by Celanese Corporation which can be filled with carbon fibers or stainless-steel filaments. A lossy material, such as lossy conductive carbon filled adhesive preform, such as those sold by Techfilm of Billerica, Massachusetts, US may also be used. This preform can include an epoxy binder filled with carbon fibers and / or other carbon particles. The binder surrounds carbon particles, which act as a reinforcement for the preform. Such a preform may be inserted in a connector wafer to form all or part of the housing. In some embodiments, the preform may adhere through the adhesive in the preform, which may be cured in a heat-treating process. In some embodiments, the adhesive may take the form of a separate conductive or non-conductive adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the adhesive in the preform alternatively or additionally may be used to secure one or more conductive elements, such as foil strips, to the lossy material.

[0055] Various forms of reinforcing fiber, in woven or non-woven form, coated or noncoated may be used. Non-woven carbon fiber is one suitable material. Other suitable materials, such as custom blends as sold by RTP Company, can be employed, as the present invention is not limited in this respect.

[0056] In some embodiments, a lossy portion may be manufactured by stamping a preform or sheet of lossy material. For example, a lossy portion may be formed by stamping a preform as described above with an appropriate pattern of openings. However, other materials may be used instead of or in addition to such a preform. A sheet of ferromagnetic material, for example, may be used.

[0057] However, lossy portions also may be formed in other ways. In some embodiments, a lossy portion may be formed by interleaving layers of lossy and conductive material such as metal foil. These layers may be rigidly attached to one another, such as through the use of epoxy or other adhesive, or may be held together in any other suitable way. The layers may be of the desired shape before being secured to one another or may be stamped or otherwise shaped after they are held together. As a further alternative, lossy portions may be formed by plating plastic or other insulative material with a lossy coating, such as a diffuse metal coating.

[0058] In some embodiments, contacts 250 may be oriented in a direction that is offset with respect to the array dimensions. For example, contacts 250 may be oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 202 and column direction 204. As shown in FIGs. 3 A-3B, the slots of insulative member 210 and conductive insert 230 holding contacts 250 are elongated in a direction diagonal to row direction 202 and column direction 204 so as to accommodatecontacts 250 that are at least partially elongated (e.g., in the plane of first and second surfaces 212 and 214) diagonal to row direction 202 and column direction 204.

[0059] It should be appreciated that, while contacts 250 are shown in FIGs. 3 A-3B oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 202 and column direction 204, contacts of interposers described herein may be oriented in any direction. As one example, each contact 250 may be oriented along row direction 202. As another example, each contact 250 may be oriented along column direction 204. As yet another example, each signal contact 252 may be oriented along row direction 202 and each ground contact 254 may be oriented along column direction 204, or vice versa. As yet another example, each signal contact 252 may be oriented along row direction 202 or column direction 204 and each ground contact 254 may be oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 202 and column direction 204, or vice versa.

[0060] FIG. 4A is an exploded top perspective view of interposer 200. FIG. 4B is an exploded bottom perspective view of interposer 200.

[0061] In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may be configured to allow contacts 250 to engage pads of a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) at first surface 212 and pads of a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140) at second surface 214. For example, signal contacts 252 may be disposed in signal contact slots of insulative member 210 that expose signal contacts 252 at first surface 212 of insulative member 210 and at second surface 214 of insulative member 210. As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, each signal contact 252 includes a first mating portion 256 that may be exposed at first surface 212 of insulative member 210 and a second mating portion 258 that may be exposed at second surface 214 of insulative member 210. In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may include signal contact slots that extend through insulative member 210 to expose first mating portion 256 at first surface 212 and second mating portion 258 at second surface 214. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, signal contact slots 216 extend through insulative member 210 from first surface 212 to second surface 214.

[0062] In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may be configured to receive conductive insert 230. For example, insulative member 210 may include gaps configured to receive respective portions of conductive insert 230 (e.g., conductive portions of insert 230). As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, insulative member 210 includes gaps 220 exposed at first surface 212 of insulative member 210. For instance, portions of conductive insert 230 may be inserted into gaps 220 via first surface 212 of insulative member 210. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, gaps 220 may extend through insulative member 210 from first surface 212 to second surface 214.

[0063] In some embodiments, gaps 220 may be positioned in insulative member 210 such that, when conductive portions of conductive insert 230 are inserted into gaps 220, the conductive portions provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for signal contacts 252 held in signal contact slots 216. For example, gaps 220 may separate signal contacts 252 from one another (e.g., when held in signal contact slots 216), such that when conductive portions of conductive insert 230 are inserted into gaps 220, the conductive portions provide electromagnetic shielding between signal contacts 252. As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, gaps 220 separate adjacent ones of signal contact slots 216 in row direction 202 and column direction 204. In some embodiments, gaps 220 may separate adjacent ones of signal contact slots 216 in only one of row direction 202 and column direction 204. As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, insulative member 210 includes connecting portions 224 disposed between adjacent gaps 220 to connect insulative contact regions 223 of insulative member 210 that are separated by gaps 220. In the illustrated embodiment, each insulative contact region 223 has a signal contact slot 216 extending in a direction perpendicular to first surface 212 and second surface 214, and insulative contact regions 223 are separated in directions (e.g., row direction 202 and column direction 204) that are perpendicular to the direction in which signal contact slots 216 extend, such that gaps 220 separate adjacent insulative contact regions 223.

[0064] In some embodiments, walls of insulative member 210 bounding gaps 220 may be aligned with the row direction and / or column direction of the array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, gaps 220 are substantially rectangular, with insulative member 210 having first and second walls parallel to column direction 202 that bound each gap 220 and third and fourth walls parallel to row direction 204 and bounding the gap 220 in connection between the first and second walls.

[0065] In some embodiments, when conductive insert 230 is inserted into gaps 220, conductive insert 230 may at least partially surround signal contact slots 216. For example, when inserted into gaps 220, conductive insert 230 may surround signal contact slots 216 proximate first surface 212 and / or second surface 214 of insulative member 210. As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, signal contact slots 216 are encircled 360 degrees by continuous portions of gaps 220 proximate first surface 212 and by discontinuous portions of gaps 220 proximate second surface 214, with connecting portions 224 of insulative member 210 interrupting the continuity of gaps 220 around signal contact slots 216 proximate second surface 214.

[0066] In some embodiments, insulative member 210 may be configured to retain conductive insert 230 in gaps 220. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, insulative member 210 includes grooves 222 positioned around gaps 220 at first surface 212, and connecting portions224 are positioned around gaps 220 at second surface 214. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 4B, grooves 222 may extend into insulative member 210 (e.g., in a direction parallel to first surface 212) to allow portions of conductive insert 230 to be inserted into grooves 222 via first surface 212. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 4A, connecting portions 224 may protrude into gaps 220 (e.g., in a direction parallel to second surface 214) to catch portions of conductive insert 230 inserted into grooves 222 via first surface 212.

[0067] It should be appreciated that, while contacts 250 are shown in FIGs. 4A-4B having multiple mating contact portions 256 and 258, other contact configurations may be used. As one example, contacts of interposer 200 may include mating contact portions exposed at first surface 212 and contact tails (e.g., through-hole and / or press-fit tails, such as eye-of-the- needle tails) exposed at second surface 214, or vice versa. As another example, contacts of interposer 200 may be exposed at only one surface of first and second surfaces 212 and 214, such as with exposed mating contact portions and / or exposed contact tails at the one surface. For instance, interposer 200 may have conductive pads exposed at the other of first and second surfaces 212 and 214.

[0068] FIG. 5A is a top perspective view of conductive insert 230. FIG. 5B is a bottom perspective view of conductive insert 230.

[0069] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be configured for inserting into insulative member 210. In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be configured such that surfaces of conductive insert 230 do not extend beyond surfaces of insulative member 210 when conductive insert 230 is inserted into insulative member 210. As shown in FIGs.5A-5B, conductive insert 230 has a first surface 232 and a second surface 234 opposite first surface 232. In some embodiments, when conductive insert 230 is inserted into insulative member 210, first surface 232 of conductive insert 230 that may be disposed proximate and parallel to first surface 212 of insulative member and second surface 232 of conductive insert may be disposed proximate and parallel to second surface 214 of insulative member 210. For example, in FIGs. 3A-3B, first surface 232 of conductive insert 230 is shown flush with first surface 212 of insulative member 210 and second surface 234 of conductive insert 230 is shown flush with second surface 214 of insulative member 210.

[0070] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may include conductive members configured for inserting into gaps 220 of insulative member 210. As shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, conductive insert 230 includes members 240 sized to be inserted into gaps 220 of insulative member 210. In some embodiments, members 240 may be formed using conductive material.As one example, members 240 may include die-cast metal, such as formed using one or more die-cast metal parts. As another example, the electrically conductive material may include electrically conductive plating, such as on exterior surfaces of an insulative substrate within members 240. In some embodiments, members 240 may have at least partially lossy dielectric material interior to the electrically conductive material to dampen electromagnetic energy in undesired resonant modes.

[0071] In some embodiments, members 240 may be configured as contact regions with contact slots extending in a first direction (e.g., perpendicular to first surface 232 and / or second surface 234) formed therein. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, each member 240 has a contact slot 246, which may be configured as ground contact slots. In some embodiments, contact slots 246 may be in electrical communication with electrically conductive material of conductive insert 230. As one example, electrically conductive plating on exterior surfaces of members 240 may be further disposed within contact slots 246 to conductively and / or capacitively couple to ground contacts held in contact slots 246. As another example, members 240 may include die-cast metal (e.g., lining contact slots 246) that conductively and / or capacitively couples to the ground contacts. As yet another example, conductive plating on exterior surfaces of, or die-cast metal forming members 240 may be positioned proximate but not within contact slots 246 to capacitively couple to the ground contacts.

[0072] In some embodiments, members 240 may be configured as contact regions having a compact configuration, such as may be suitable for a dense array of contacts. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, members 240 have surfaces (e.g., along first surface 232 and second surface 234) perpendicular to the direction in which contact slots 246 extend, and through which contact slots 246 extend. In some embodiments, such surfaces (e.g., along first surface 232) may have an area less than 1 mm x 1 mm, such as less than 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm (e.g., between 0.4 mm x 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm), and / or at least 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm (e.g., between 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm and 1 mm x 1 mm). In some embodiments, members 240 may be flat (e.g., having a flat surface) and have a width of 0.2 mm or less.

[0073] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be configured to allow contacts disposed therein to engage pads of a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) at first surface 232 and pads of a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140) at second surface 232, such as described herein for insulative member 210. For example, conductive insert 230 may be configured to expose first mating ends of the contacts at first surface 232 and second mating ends of the contacts at second surface 234. As shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, contact slots 246 extend throughmembers 240 of conductive insert 230 from first surface 232 to second surface 234. In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be configured for electrically coupling to a surface of a substrate (e.g., substrate 110 and / or 140) via ground contacts held in contact slots 246. For example, conductive insert 230 may include exposed conductive material (e.g., plating or die-cast metal) positioned within contact slots 246 to conductively and / or capacitively couple to ground contacts held therein, which in turn may couple to a ground region (e.g., pad) on the surface of the substrate.

[0074] In some embodiments, members 240 may be arranged in an array along row and / or column directions. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, members 240 are arranged along row direction 202 and column direction 204. In some embodiments, the array may have a row dimension (in row direction 202) of less than 5 mm, such as less than 2 mm, and / or less than 1 mm. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the array may have a column dimension (in column direction 204) of less than 5 mm, such as less than 2mm, and / or less than 1 mm.

[0075] In some embodiments, walls of members 240 may be aligned with the row direction and / or column direction of the array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, members 240 are substantially rectangular with first and second walls parallel to column direction 202 and third and fourth walls parallel to row direction 204 and connecting the first and second walls.

[0076] In some embodiments, members 240 of conductive insert 230 may be separated in directions perpendicular to the direction in which contact slots 246 extend such that members 240 are separated by gaps. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, members 240 of each row in the illustrated array are offset from members 240 of adjacent rows in row direction 202, which is shown in FIG. 5A being perpendicular to the direction in which contact slots 246 extend, leaving gaps in between adjacent member 240. In some embodiments, where conductive insert includes an insulative substrate, electrically conductive material may be on surfaces of the insulative substrate bordering the gaps, such as to be in electrical communication with contact slots 246. In some embodiments, gaps of conductive insert 230 and of insulative member 210 may be configured for insertion of insulative contact regions 223 of insulative member 210 into gaps of conductive insert 230 and insertion of contact regions of electrically conductive insert 230 into gaps of insulative member 210. For example, contact regions of conductive insert 230 may have an average volume of at least 40%, at least 50%, and / or at least 75% of an average volume of insulative contact regions 223.

[0077] In some embodiments, members 240 (e.g., within a row and / or column) may be spaced from one another (e.g., along the row and / or column) at least by a width of a member 240. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, members 240 are shown spaced from one another along row direction 202 by a row-direction width of one member 240 and spaced from one another along column direction 204 by a column-direction width of one member 240. In some embodiments, members 240 may be electrically connected to one another at their corners. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, connecting portions 242 are disposed at corners of members 240 to adjoin them at the corners. In some embodiments, conductive plating on exterior surfaces of, or die-cast metal forming the corners of members 240 may provide an electrically conductive path between members 240. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, corners of members 240 may provide capacitive coupling between members 240.

[0078] In some embodiments, members 240 may be configured for inserting into gaps 220 of insulative member 210. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, members 240 include connecting portions 242 at first surface 232 of conductive insert 230 and grooves 244 at second surface 234 of conductive insert 230. In some embodiments, grooves 244 of members 240 may be configured to accommodate connecting portions 224 of insulative member 210 positioned around gaps 220 when conductive insert 230 is inserted into insulative member 210 via first surface 212. In some embodiments, connecting portions 242 of members 240 may be configured to travel through grooves 222 of insulative member 210 and retain members 240 in gaps 220 upon reaching connecting portions 224 of insulative member 210.

[0079] In some embodiments, conductive insert 230 may be configured to continuously surround portions of insulative member at first surface 232 and to be continuously surrounded by portions of insulative member 210 at second surface 234. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, connecting portions 242 connecting adjacent members 240 proximate first surface 232 form a 360 encircling of portions of insulative member 210 proximate first surface 232. Also shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, grooves 244 of members 240 interrupt conductive insert proximate second surface 234, allowing insulative member 210 to continuously surround members 240 proximate second surface 234.

[0080] Similar to signal contact slots 216 of insulative member 210, in some embodiments, contact slots 246 may be oriented in a direction that is offset (e.g., diagonal) with respect to row direction 202 and column direction 204, such as shown in FIGs. 5 A-5B, though other orientations are possible, such as described herein for signal contact slots 216.

[0081] FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of insulative member 210. FIG. 6B is a bottom perspective view of insulative member 210. FIGs. 6A-6B further illustrate gaps 220, connecting portions 224, and grooves 222.

[0082] FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of a contact 250 in a compressed state. FIG. 7B is a rear perspective view of contact 250 in the compressed state.

[0083] In some embodiments, contact 250 may be configured as a spring contact with a first compressible end configured for electrically coupling to a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) and a second compressible end configured for electrically coupling to a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140). For example, as shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, contact 250 includes an intermediate base portion 270, a first spring-loaded contact arm 260a extending from a first end of intermediate base portion 270, and a second spring-loaded contact arm 260b extending from a second end of intermediate base portion 270. Also shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, first contact arm 260a has a first mating contact portion 262a and terminates at a first spring portion 264a and second contact arm 260b has a second mating contact portion 262b and terminates at a second spring portion 264b. In some embodiments, contact 250 may be stamped and folded from a sheet of metal. In some embodiments, contact 250 may be C-shaped, such as shown in FIGs. 7A-7B to be the shape of portions of contact 250 that connect first mating contact portion 262a to second mating contact portion 262b.

[0084] In some embodiments, first contact arm 260a and second contact arm 260b may be configured to move toward one another when first mating contact portion 262a and second mating contact portion 262b move toward one another. For example, first mating contact portion 262a may be configured for electrically coupling to a pad on a surface of a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) and second mating contact portion 262b may be configured for electrically coupling to a pad on a surface of a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140) disposed parallel to the surface of the first substrate. As shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, first mating contact portion 262a protrudes from first contact arm 260a in an opposite direction from the direction in which second mating contact portion 262b protrudes from second contact arm 260b, such that first contact arm 260a may bias first mating contact portion 262a toward the first substrate and second contact arm 260b may bias second mating contact portion 262b toward the second substrate when the first and second substrates are on opposite sides of contact 250.

[0085] In some embodiments, contact 250 may be compressible to provide a plurality of parallel electrical paths between first mating contact portion 262a and second mating contact portion 262b. For example, intermediate base portion 270 may provide a first electrical path from first mating contact portion 262a to second mating contact portion 262b, and first springportion 264a and second spring portion 264b may be configured to electrically couple to one another (e.g., via electrical contact and / or capacitive coupling) when first mating contact portion 262a and second mating contact portion 262b are compressed toward another, thereby providing a second electrical path from first mating contact portion 262a to second mating contact portion 262b. For instance, in the compressed state shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, first spring portion 264a physically contacts second spring portion 264b, thereby providing a conductive electrical path.

[0086] FIG. 8 is a side view of contact 250 compressed between a first conductive pad 282 on a first substrate 280 and a second conductive pad 292 on a second substrate 290, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, first conductive pad 282 of first substrate 280 may be configured in the manner described herein for pad 112 of substrate 110 and second conductive pad 292 of second substrate 290 may be configured in the manner described herein for pad 142 of substrate 140.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first and second compressible ends of contact 250 may be configured to move toward one another when first conductive pad 282 is pressed against the first compressible end and second conductive pad 292 is pressed against the second compressible end. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, first contact arm 260a is compressed toward second contact arm 260b due to force from first conductive pad 282 applied to first mating contact portion 262a and force from second conductive pad 292 applied to second mating contact portion 262b. In some embodiments, a contact slot (e.g., contact slot 216 and / or contact slot 246) may be configured to guide first contact arm 260a and second contact arm 260b toward one another when contact 250 is compressed, such as by limiting movement in directions other than the direction separating first conductive pad 282 from second conductive pad 292. For example, when disposed in the contact slot, first contact arm 260a may extend, at least in part, toward a first surface (e.g., first surface 212 and / or first surface 232), such as where first contact arm 260a joins intermediate base portion 270 and / or between first mating contact portion 262a and first spring portion 264a. Similarly, second contact arm 260b may extend, at least in part, toward a second surface opposite the first surface (e.g., second surface 214 and / or second surface 234), such as where second contact arm 260b joins intermediate base portion 270 and / or between second mating contact portion 262b and second spring portion 264b.

[0088] In some embodiments, when in the compressed state, contacts 250 may have a height (from first mating contact portion 262a to second mating contact portion 262b of less than 2mm, such as 1.75 mm or 1.5 mm. In some embodiments, signal contact slots 216 may have a width of 0.2 mm or less.

[0089] While interposer 200 is shown in FIGs. 3 A-6B configured to carry single-ended signals, it should be appreciated that interposers described herein may be alternatively or additionally configured to carry differential signals. As one example, rather than or in addition to the GSG pattern of contacts 250 shown in FIGs. 3 A-3B, an interposer may have a ground-signal-signal-ground (GSSG) pattern of contacts 250. For instance, the insulative member may have gaps positioned between adjacent pairs of signal contact slots (e.g., with the gaps of each row offset from gaps of adjacent rows). Likewise, the conductive insert may have members separated from one another by two (or more) member-widths in the row and / or column dimensions of the array.

[0090] FIG. 9A is a top perspective view of an alternative example interposer 300 including a conductive insert 330, which may be included in electronic assembly 100, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 9B is a bottom perspective view of interposer 300.

[0091] In some embodiments, interposer 300 may be included in electronic assembly 100 in the manner described herein for interposer 200. For example, interposer 300 may be mountable to a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) and configured for electrically connecting pads on the first substrate to pads on a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140). As shown in FIGs. 9A-9B, interposer 300 includes an insulative member 310 may serve together with conductive insert 330 as the housing of interposer 300 in the manner described herein for insulative member 210 and conductive insert 230 of interposer 200. Also shown in FIGs. 9A- 9B, interposer 300 includes contacts 350, including signal contacts 352 and ground contacts 354, which may be configured in the manner described herein for contacts 250 of interposer 200. For instance, as shown in FIGs. 9A-9B, contacts 350 are exposed at first surface 312 of insulative member 310 and second surface 314 of insulative member 310.

[0092] In some embodiments, contacts 350 of interposer 300 may be disposed in an array, such as described herein for interposer 200. For example, as shown in FIGs. 9A-9B, contacts 350 may be disposed in rows along row direction 302 and columns along column direction 304. Also shown in FIGs. 9A-9B, signal contacts 352 of adjacent rows are offset from one another in row direction 302.

[0093] FIG. 10A is an exploded top perspective view of interposer 300. FIG. 10B is an exploded bottom perspective view of interposer 300.

[0094] In some embodiments, contacts 350 may be held in interposer 300 in the manner described herein for interposer 200. For example, as shown in FIGs. 10A-10B, insulativemember 310 includes signal contact slots 316 for holding signal contacts 352 and conductive insert 330 includes contact slots 346 for holding ground contacts 354. Also shown in FIGs. 10A-10B, each contact 350 includes a first mating portion 356 and a second mating portion 358, as described herein for contacts 250.

[0095] In some embodiments, insulative member 310 may be configured to receive conductive insert 330, such as described herein for insulative member 210. For example, as shown in FIGs. 10A-10B, insulative member 310 includes gaps 320 sized and positioned to accommodate portions of conductive insert 330. Also shown in FIGs. 10A-10B, grooves 322 proximate first surface 312 extend from gaps 320 into insulative member 310 to accommodate portions of conductive insert 330 and connecting portions 324 extend into gaps 320 proximate second surface 314 to retain the portions of conductive insert 330.

[0096] In some embodiments, walls of insulative member 310 bounding gaps 320 may be angularly offset with respect to the row direction and / or column direction of the array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 10A-10B, gaps 320 are shaped substantially as inverted octagons, with each wall of insulative member 310 that bounds a gap 320 including two sides of the inverted octagon that are angularly offset from row direction 302 and column direction 304 to be concave towards the gap 320.

[0097] FIG. 11 A is a top perspective view of conductive insert 330. FIG. 1 IB is a bottom perspective view of conductive insert 330.

[0098] In some embodiments, conductive insert 330 may be configured for inserting into insulative member 310 to provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for interposer 300 as described herein for conductive insert 230. For example, in some embodiments, conductive insert 330 may include conductive material (e.g., die-cast metal and / or conductive plating). As shown in FIGs. 11 A-l IB, conductive insert 330 includes members 340, which may include conductive material as described herein for members 240. Also shown in FIGs. 11 A-l IB, members 340 serve as contact modules with contact slots 346. In some embodiments, members 340 may be configured to engage gaps 320 of insulative member 310 as described herein for members 240. For example, as shown in FIGs. 11 A-l IB, members 340 include connecting portions 342 proximate first surface 332 of conductive insert 330 adjoining members 340 to one another and grooves 344 proximate second surface 334 of conductive insert 330 for accommodating connecting portions 324 of insulative member 310.

[0099] In some embodiments, walls of members 340 may be angularly offset with respect to the row direction and / or column direction of the array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 11 A-1 IB, members 340 are shaped substantially as inverted octagons, with each wall of a member 340 including two sides of the inverted octagon that are angularly offset from row direction 302 and column direction 304 to be concave into the member 340.

[0100] FIG. 12A is a top perspective view of insulative member 310. FIG. 12B is a bottom perspective view of insulative member 310. FIGs. 12A-12B further illustrate gaps 320, grooves 322, and connecting portions 324 of insulative member 310.

[0101] Having thus described several embodiments, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements may 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.

[0102] For example, some contacts are described as signal contacts. Similar contacts may be used as ground contacts. In some embodiments, signal and ground contacts may be differentiated based on shape, with the ground contacts being wider than signal contacts of some or all of their length. Alternatively, they may be differentiated by position, with signal contacts being positioned in pairs between ground contacts, for example in a ground, signal, signal, ground (GSSG) pattern, where adjacent signal contacts form a differential pair. Alternatively, the contacts may be arranged in a signal, ground, signal (SGS) pattern. The ground contacts may electrically connect to a ground plane of a substrate.

[0103] As another example, interposers have been described herein including insulative members with gaps that engage each corner of members of a conductive insert at each corner of each gap. It should be appreciated that insulative members described herein may have gaps in which only some comers of the gap engage only some comers of members of the conductive insert. For instance, where the members and / or gaps are substantially rectangular, only one, two, or three corners of the members may engage respective corners of the gaps. Alternatively, members and / or gaps may not have any corners, such as for substantially circular members and / or gaps.

[0104] As another example, interposers have been described herein with some signal contacts positioned adjacent other signal contacts. It should be appreciated that ground contacts may separate each signal contact from each other signal contact and / or each differential pair of signal contacts from each other pair of differential signal contacts. For instance, the arrangement of signal contacts and ground contacts in a single-ended arrangement may form a full checkerboard. In some embodiments, ground contacts may alternatively or additionally surround the array of contacts, such as with the first and last rows and columns of the array including only ground contacts.

[0105] As another example, electrical connectors have been described herein as having contacts arranged in an array having rows and columns, which may be a rectangular array such as illustrated, and / or may be non-rectangular and / or irregular. It should be appreciated that, examples described herein in reference to rows and columns may apply generally to dimensions of non-rectangular, irregular, and / or other types of arrays.

[0106] A chip socket has been described as an example of a component containing an interposer. Techniques as described herein may be used to construct an interposer used for any suitable purpose, such as to join two parallel printed circuit boards. Similarly, a printed circuit board was used as an example of a substrate with conductive structures to be connected to another device through an interposer. Techniques as described herein may be used to connect any suitable substrate to another electronic component.

[0107] Further, exemplary materials were described for portions of the interposer. Other materials may be used.

[0108] In some configurations, a semiconductor device with a Ball Grid Array or Land Grid Array may be connected to the board through the interposer. Alternatively, or additionally, the component may be the end of a flexible printed circuit. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that a component with a substrate having contact pads thereon may be pressed against the interposer to make electrical connections.

[0109] In some embodiments, a compressive force is applied to an interposer as a result of a lid being closed with some mechanism to bias the lid towards the interposer. That mechanism may include spring-like members with camming surfaces formed as part of the frame, for example. Similar spring-like members may be formed as part of a sheet-metal shell surrounding the frame and / or the interposer.

[0110] Terms signifying direction, such as “upwards” and “downwards,” were used in connection with some embodiments. These terms were used to signify direction based on the orientation of components illustrated or connection to another component, such as a surface of a printed circuit board to which a termination assembly is mounted. It should be understood that electronic components may be used in any suitable orientation. Accordingly, terms of direction should be understood to be relative, rather than fixed to a coordinate system perceived as unchanging, such as the earth’s surface.[OHl] Further, though advantages of the present invention are indicated, it should be appreciated that not every embodiment of the invention will include every described advantage. Some embodiments may not implement any features described as advantageousherein and in some instances. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

[0112] Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

[0113] Also, the invention may be embodied as a method, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0114] Also, circuits and modules depicted and described may be reordered in any order, and signals may be provided to enable reordering accordingly.

[0115] Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

[0116] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and / or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0117] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[0118] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.

[0119] The phrase “and / or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and / or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and / or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and / or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0120] Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein are 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 as additional items.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector, comprising: a plurality of signal contacts; an insulative housing supporting the plurality of signal contacts separated from one another by a plurality of gaps; an electrically conductive insert disposed in the plurality of gaps; and a plurality of ground contacts held in the electrically conductive insert.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: the electrically conductive insert comprises a plurality of slots; and the plurality of ground contacts are disposed in respective slots of the plurality of slots of the electrically conductive insert.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein: the insulative housing comprises a plurality of slots; and the plurality of signal contacts are disposed in respective slots of the plurality of slots of the insulative housing.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the electrical connector is an interposer.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of signal contacts and the plurality of ground contacts are arranged in an array along a row direction and a column direction perpendicular to the row direction; and the plurality of signal contacts and the plurality of ground contacts are oriented in a direction that is offset with respect to the row and column directions.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the plurality of signal contacts and the plurality of ground contacts are oriented diagonally with respect to the row and column directions.

7. The electrical connector of any one of claims 5-6, wherein ones of the plurality of ground contacts are disposed between adjacent ones of the plurality of signal contacts in the row direction.

8. The electrical connector of any one of claims 5-7, wherein ones of the plurality of ground contacts are disposed between adjacent ones of the plurality of signal contacts in the column direction.

9. The electrical connector of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrically conductive insert is configured for electrically coupling to a surface of a printed circuit board via the plurality of ground contacts.

10. The electrical connector of any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the array has a dimension in the row direction of 1 mm or less and a dimension in the column direction of 1 mm or less.

11. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises a plurality of electrically conductive members disposed in the plurality of gaps, respectively, each electrically conductive member comprising a ground contact of the plurality of ground contacts.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein: the insulative housing comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; the plurality of gaps extend from the first surface to the second surface; at the first surface, at least some of the plurality of electrically conductive members are 360 degrees encircled by the insulative housing; and at the second surface, at least some of the plurality of signal contacts are 360 degrees encircled by the electrically conductive insert.

13. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises an insulative substrate with electrically conductive material disposed on exterior surfaces of the insulative substrate.

14. The electrical connector of claim 13, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises electrically conductive plating.

15. The electrical connector of claims 1 to 12, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises a substrate comprising at least partially lossy dielectric material with electrically conductive material disposed on exterior surfaces of the substrate.

16. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises die-cast metal.

17. An electrically conductive insert, comprising: an insulative substrate comprising a plurality of contact regions, each contact region comprising a contact slot extending in a first direction formed therein, wherein the plurality of contact regions are separated in directions perpendicular to the first direction such that the plurality of contact regions are separated by gaps; and electrically conductive plating on surfaces of the insulative substrate bordering the gaps.

18. The electrically conductive insert of claim 17, wherein the electrically conductive plating is in electrical communication with the contact slots.

19. The electrically conductive insert of claim 17, wherein the contact slots of the plurality of contact regions are oriented diagonally with respect to the directions perpendicular to the first direction.

20. The electrically conductive insert of claim 17, wherein the plurality of contact regions are spaced along the directions perpendicular to the first direction at least by a width of a contact module.

21. The electrically conductive insert of claim 20, wherein the plurality of contact regions are physically and electrically connected to one another at their corners.

22. The electrically conductive insert of claim 17, wherein the plurality of contact regions are arranged in dimensions in the directions perpendicular to the first direction of 1 mm or less.

23. The electrically conductive insert of claim 17, wherein, for each of the plurality of contact regions: the contact region comprises a surface perpendicular to the first direction; the contact slot extends through the surface; and the surface has an area of at least 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm.

24. An electrical connector, comprising: the electrically conductive insert of claim 17 in combination with an insulative housing, the insulative housing comprising a plurality of insulative contact regions, and each of the plurality of insulative contact regions comprising a slot extending in the first direction, wherein: the plurality of insulative contact regions are separated in directions perpendicular to the first direction such that there are gaps between the plurality of insulative contact regions; and the plurality of insulative contact regions are disposed within the gaps of the electrically conductive insert; and the plurality of contact regions of the electrically conductive insert are disposed within the gaps of the insulative housing.

25. The electrical connector of claim 24, wherein the plurality of contact regions of the electrically conductive insert have an average volume of at least 40%, at least 50%, and / or at least 75% of an average volume of the plurality of insulative contact regions.

26. An interposer, comprising: an insulative housing comprising: a first surface; a second surface opposite the first surface; a plurality of signal contact slots extending through the insulative housing from the first surface to the second surface; and a plurality of gaps separating ones of the plurality of signal contact slots;a plurality of signal contacts disposed in the plurality of signal contact slots, each signal contact comprising a first compressible end exposed at the first surface and a second compressible end exposed at the second surface; and an insert having a plurality of electrically conductive members disposed in the plurality of gaps, respectively, to provide a return path for electrical signals carried by the plurality of signal contacts.

27. The interposer of claim 26, wherein the plurality of signal contact slots have a width of 0.2 mm or less.

28. The interposer of claim 26, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive members are flat and have a width of 0.2 mm or less.

29. The interposer of claim 26, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive members comprise C-shaped contacts.

30. The interposer of claim 26, wherein the first and second compressible ends of each signal contact are configured to move toward one another when a first conductive pad on a first surface of at least one electrical component is pressed against the first compressible end proximate the first surface of the insulative housing and a second conductive pad on a second surface of the at least one electrical component is pressed against the second compressible end proximate the second surface of the insulative housing.

31. The interposer of claim 30, wherein each signal contact comprises: a first contact arm comprising the first compressible end and extending, at least in part, toward the first surface of the insulative housing; and a second contact arm attached to the first contact arm, the second contact arm comprising the second compressible end and extending, at least in part, toward the second surface of the insulative housing.

32. The interposer of any one of claims 26 to 31, wherein: the plurality of electrically conductive members comprise a respective plurality of ground contact slots; andthe interposer further comprises a plurality of ground contacts disposed in the plurality of ground contact slots.

33. The interposer of claim 32, wherein: the insert comprises a first surface parallel to the first surface of the insulative housing and a second surface parallel to the second surface of the insulative housing; and each ground contact comprises a first compressible end exposed at the first surface of the insert and a second compressible end exposed at the second surface of the insert.

34. The interposer of claim 32 or 33, wherein: the plurality of signal contacts and the plurality of ground contacts are arranged in an array along a row direction and a column direction perpendicular to the row direction; and the plurality of signal contacts and the plurality of ground contacts are oriented in a direction that is offset with respect to the row and column directions.

35. The interposer of claim 34, wherein ones of the plurality of ground contacts are disposed between adjacent ones of the plurality of signal contacts in the row direction.

36. The interposer of claim 34 or 35, wherein ones of the plurality of ground contacts are disposed between adjacent ones of the plurality of ground contacts in the column direction.

37. The interposer of any one of claims 26-36, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive members of the insert is each configured for electrically coupling to a surface of a printed circuit board.

38. The interposer of any one of claims 26-37, wherein the plurality of signal contacts are arranged in an array having a row dimension of 1 mm or less and a column dimension of 1 mm or less.

39. The interposer of any one of claims 26-38, wherein: the plurality of gaps extend from the first surface of the insulative housing to the second surface of the insulative housing; at the first surface of the insulative housing, at least some of the plurality of electrically conductive members are encircled 360 degrees by the insulative housing; andat the second surface of the insulative housing, at least some of the plurality of signal contacts are encircled 360 degrees by the insert.

40. The interposer of any one of claims 26-39, wherein each of the plurality of electrically conductive members comprises an insulative substrate with electrically conductive material disposed on exterior surfaces of the insulative substrate.

41. The interposer of claim 40, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises electrically conductive plating.

42. The interposer of claim 40 or 41, wherein the insulative substrate further comprises at least partially lossy material interior to the electrically conductive material to dampen electromagnetic energy in undesired resonant modes.

43. The interposer of any one of claims 26 to 40, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive members comprise die-cast metal.

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