Interposer with conductive housing

Abstract

An electrical connector, such as an interposer, for a high density of high-speed interconnects is provided. Conductive elements, configured as signal conductors, are held in multiple contact regions of a conductive housing. The conductive housing has gaps in which insulative inserts may be inserted. In some examples, the insulative inserts include conductive elements for differential signaling. The conductive elements for differential signaling may be oriented symmetrically with respect to distance from a grounded conductive shield.

Description

Attorney Docket No. : A1245.70011WO00 INTERPOSER WITH CONDUCTIVE HOUSINGCROSS-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 / 861,839, filed August 11, 2025 and titled “INTERPOSER WITH CONDUCTIVE HOUSING,” and of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 791,301, filed April 18, 2025 and titled “INTERPOSER WITH CONDUCTIVE HOUSING.” The foregoing applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The technology described herein relates generally to interconnection systems and more particularly to systems with interposers that provide multiple electrical connections between components.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#15132403vland 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 through a 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.#15132403vlSUMMARY

[0008] Embodiments of an electrical connector including an electrically conductive housing 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 ground contacts, an electrically conductive housing supporting the plurality of ground contacts and comprising a gap, an insulative insert disposed in the gap, and a plurality of signal contacts held in the insulative insert.

[0010] In accordance with some embodiments, an electrical connector may comprise a differential pair of signal contacts, a support retaining the differential pair of signal contacts, and a conductor at least partially surrounding the support, wherein the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented substantially symmetrically with respect to the conductor.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] 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:

[0012] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic assembly including an interposer, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of an example interposer including insulative inserts, which may be included in the electronic assembly of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0015] FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3 A;

[0016] FIG. 4A is an exploded top perspective view of the interposer of FIG. 3A;

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

[0018] FIG. 5 A is a top front perspective view of the insulative inserts of the interposer of FIG.3A;

[0019] FIG. 5B is a top rear perspective view of the insulative inserts of FIG. 3 A;

[0020] FIG. 5C is a bottom rear perspective view of the insulative inserts of FIG. 3A;#15132403vl

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

[0022] FIG. 6B is a bottom perspective view of the conductive member of FIG. 3 A;

[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. 9 is a perspective view of an example interposer having differential signal contacts oriented at 180 degrees relative to each other, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0027] FIG. 10 is a partially exploded view of the interposer of FIG. 9; and

[0028] FIG. 11 is a partially exploded view of the interposer of FIG. 9 with a pair of differential contacts exploded.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] 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 contacts in an electrical connector, such as an interposer, as a dense array of contacts. The electrically conductive contacts may be inserted into an electrically conductive housing of the electrical connector. Such a housing may be formed by plating a plastic component with a conductive material and / or die-cast metal. The electrically conductive contacts 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 crosstalk between conductors carrying separate signals, and may facilitate dense and robust arrangements of conductors in an electrical connector with high performance. The conductive contacts of the conductive housing may be ground contacts. Additionally, or alternatively, the conductive housing itself may be grounded.

[0030] The conductive housing of the electrical connector may be formed with gaps. Electrically insulative inserts may be shaped to fit within the gaps; the insulative inserts may hold at least one conductor which is a signal contact. Such inserts may enable fine control of spacing between the conductive housing and the signal contacts, even within a dense array.#15132403vl

[0031] In some embodiments, the signal contacts form differential pairs and may be oriented symmetrically with respect to ground. For example, a differential pair of signal contacts may be oriented at 180 degrees relative to each other, for example in a “back-to-back” configuration or alternatively in a “front-to-fronf ’ configuration, such that the differential pair is symmetrically bounded by grounded walls of the conductive housing.

[0032] 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 such arrangements, 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. First substrate 110 and second substrate 140 may be any suitable electronic components. Accordingly, interposer 120 may provide connection between any suitable electronic components without limitation to the examples explicitly described herein.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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,#15132403vlthe 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of interposer 120. Interposer 120 includes a conductive member 122 serving as the interposer housing. Conductive member 122 includes a first surface 124 and a second surface 126, which opposes first surface 124. Conductive 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#15132403vlelectrical connections with substrate 140. Conductive member 122 may include contact slots through which the bodies of the contacts 130 are passed and retained.

[0037] In some embodiments, each contact 130 of an interposer 120 may provide two (or more) conductive paths electrically connecting a pad 112 with a pad 142. Providing multiple 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.

[0038] FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of an example interposer 400 including insulative inserts 430, which may be included in electronic assembly 100, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3B is a bottom perspective view of interposer 400.

[0039] In some embodiments, interposer 400 may be included in electronic assembly 100 in the manner described herein for interposer 120. For example, interposer 400 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 400 includes a conductive member 410 which may serve together with insulative inserts 430 as the housing of interposer 400. In some embodiments, insulative inserts 430 may serve as an insulative housing of interposer 400 with conductive member 410 to provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for interposer 400, as described further herein. Also shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, interposer 400 includes contacts 450, including member contacts 452 supported by (e.g., disposed in slots of) conductive member 410 and insert contacts 454 supported by (e.g., disposed in slots of) insulative inserts 430. As shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, contacts 450 are exposed at first surface 412 of member 410 and second surface 414 of member 410. Member contacts 452 may be configured as ground contacts and insert contacts 454 may be configured as signal contacts. While as shown each insulative insert 430 comprises two insert contacts 454, in some embodiments at least one insulative insert 430 may include only a single insert contact 454.

[0040] In some embodiments, insulative inserts 430 may be formed using an insulative material such as molded plastic (e.g., LCP). In some embodiments, the insulative material may comprise polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (e.g., Teflon).

[0041] In some embodiments, the slots of insulative inserts 430 may extend from one surface of the through insulative inserts 430. For example, as shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, insulative inserts 430#15132403vlinclude first surface 432 and second surface 434 opposite first surface 432, and insert contacts 454 are exposed in the slots at first surface 432 and second surface 434.

[0042] In some embodiments, contacts 450 of interposer 400 may be disposed in an array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, contacts 450 may be disposed in rows along row direction 402 and columns along column direction 404. Also shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, adjacent columns of contacts 450 may be offset from one another in column direction 404. Accordingly, the nonlimiting example of interposer 400 may be considered to comprise eight rows and fourteen columns, with four contacts 450 per column. The offset between adjacent columns may allow for interposer 400 to have a greater density of contacts 450.

[0043] In some embodiments, contacts 450 may be oriented in a direction that is offset with respect to the array dimensions. For example, contacts 450 may be oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 402 and column direction 404. As shown in FIGs. 3A-3B, the slots of conductive member 410 and insulative insert 430 holding contacts 450 are elongated in a direction diagonal to row direction 402 and column direction 404 so as to accommodate contacts 450 that are at least partially elongated (e.g., in the plane of first and second surfaces 412 and 414) diagonal to row direction 402 and column direction 404.

[0044] It should be appreciated that, while contacts 450 are shown in FIGs. 3A-3B oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 402 and column direction 404, contacts of interposers described herein may be oriented in any direction. As one example, each contact 450 may be oriented along row direction 402. As another example, each contact 450 may be oriented along column direction 404. As yet another example, each member contact 452 may be oriented along row direction 202 and each insert contact 454 may be oriented along column direction 404, or vice versa. As yet another example, each member contact 452 may be oriented along row direction 402 or column direction 404 and each ground contact 454 may be oriented diagonally with respect to row direction 402 and column direction 404, or vice versa.

[0045] In some embodiments, the array may have a row dimension (in row direction 402) 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 404) of less than 5 mm, such as less than 2 mm, and / or less than 1 mm. In some embodiments, contacts 450 of interposer 400 may have a center-to-center spacing in a row direction 402 and / or#15132403vlcolumn direction 404 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.

[0046] In some embodiments, conductive member 410 may be formed using electrically conductive material. As one example, conductive member 410 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 member 410. 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 member 410 may include at least partially lossy material. For example, in some embodiments in which conductive member 410 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] FIG. 4A is an exploded top perspective view of interposer 400. FIG. 4B is an exploded bottom perspective view of interposer 400.

[0049] In some embodiments, conducting member 410 may be configured to allow contacts 450 to engage pads of a first substrate (e.g., substrate 110) at first surface 412 and pads of a second substrate (e.g., substrate 140) at second surface 414. For example, member contacts 452 may be disposed in contact slots of conducting member 410 that expose member contacts 452 at first surface 412 of conducting member 410 and at second surface 414 of conducting member 410. As shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, each member contact 452 includes a first mating portion 456 that may be exposed at first surface 412 of conducting member 410 and a second mating portion 458 that may be exposed at second surface 414 of conducting member 410. In some embodiments, conducting member 410 may include contact slots that extend through conducting member 410 to expose first mating portion 456 at first surface 412 and second mating portion 458 at second surface 414. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, member contact slots 416 extend through conducting member 410 from first surface 412 to second surface 414.

[0050] In some embodiments, conductive member 410 may be configured to receive insulative inserts 430. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, conductive member 410 includes gaps 420#15132403vlsized and positioned to accommodate respective insulative inserts 430. Also shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, grooves 422 proximate first surface 412 extend from gaps 420 into member 410 to accommodate portions 442 of inserts 430 and portions 424 extend into gaps 420 proximate second surface 414 to retain the inserts 430.

[0051] In some embodiments, walls of conductive member 410 bounding gaps 420 may be angularly offset with respect to the row direction 402 and / or column direction 404 of the array. For example, as shown in FIGs. 4A-4B, gaps 420 are shaped substantially as parallelograms, with each wall of member 410 that bounds a gap 420 being angularly offset from row direction 402 and column direction 404.

[0052] In some embodiments, walls of conductive member 410 bounding gaps may be aligned with the row direction 402 and / or column direction 404 of the array.

[0053] As can be seen in FIGs. 4A-4B, in some embodiments there may be a plurality of insulative inserts 430. For example, there may be four inserts 430, or any suitable number of insulative inserts 430. Each insulative insert 430 may comprise one or more — in the example shown, two — insert contact slots 446 for holding insert contacts 454.

[0054] FIG. 5A is a top front perspective view of insulative inserts 430. FIG. 5B is a top rear perspective view of inserts 430. FIG. 5C is a bottom rear perspective view of inserts 430.

[0055] In some embodiments, conductive member 410 may be configured to provide electromagnetic shielding and / or a ground return path for interposer 400. For example, in some embodiments, conductive member 410 may include a conductive material (e.g., die-cast metal and / or conductive plating). Insulative inserts 430 may in some embodiments serve as an insulative housing of interposer 400. Insulative inserts 430 may be formed using an insulative material such as LCP.

[0056] In some embodiments, insulative inserts 430 may be configured to engage gaps 420 of conductive member 410. For example, as shown in FIGs. 5A-5C, inserts 430 include portions 442 proximate first surface 432 of a respective insulative insert 430 and grooves 444 proximate second surface 434 of an insert 430 for accommodating portions 424 of conductive member 410.

[0057] In some embodiments, each insert 430 may comprise a portion 442 configured to travel through a groove 422 of member 410 and retain the insert 430 in a gap 420 upon reaching portion 424 of member 410.#15132403vl

[0058] FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of member 410. FIG. 6B is a bottom perspective view of member 410. FIGs. 6A-6B further illustrate gaps 420, grooves 422, and portions 424 of member 410.

[0059] FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of a contact 450 in a compressed state. FIG. 7B is a rear perspective view of contact 450 in the compressed state.

[0060] In some embodiments, contact 450 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 450 includes an intermediate base portion 470, a first spring-loaded contact arm 460a extending from a first end of intermediate base portion 470, and a second spring-loaded contact arm 460b extending from a second end of intermediate base portion 470. Also shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, first contact arm 460a has a first mating contact portion 462a and terminates at a first spring portion 464a and second contact arm 460b has a second mating contact portion 462b and terminates at a second spring portion 464b. In some embodiments, contact 450 may be stamped and folded from a sheet of metal. In some embodiments, contact 450 may be C-shaped, such as shown in FIGs. 7A-7B to be the shape of portions of contact 450 that connect first mating contact portion 462a to second mating contact portion 462b.

[0061] In some embodiments, first contact arm 460a and second contact arm 460b may be configured to move toward one another when first mating contact portion 462a and second mating contact portion 462b move toward one another. For example, first mating contact portion 462a 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 462b 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 462a protrudes from first contact arm 460a in an opposite direction from the direction in which second mating contact portion 462b protrudes from second contact arm 460b, such that first contact arm 460a may bias first mating contact portion 462a toward the first substrate and second contact arm 460b may bias second mating contact portion 462b toward the second substrate when the first and second substrates are on opposite sides of contact 450.#15132403vl

[0062] In some embodiments, contact 450 may be compressible to provide a plurality of parallel electrical paths between first mating contact portion 462a and second mating contact portion 462b. For example, intermediate base portion 470 may provide a first electrical path from first mating contact portion 462a to second mating contact portion 462b, and first spring portion 464a and second spring portion 464b may be configured to electrically couple to one another (e.g., via electrical contact and / or capacitive coupling) when first mating contact portion 462a and second mating contact portion 462b are compressed toward another, thereby providing a second electrical path from first mating contact portion 462a to second mating contact portion 462b. For instance, in the compressed state shown in FIGs. 7A-7B, first spring portion 464a physically contacts second spring portion 464b, thereby providing a conductive electrical path.

[0063] FIG. 8 is a side view of contact 450 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.

[0064] In some embodiments, the first and second compressible ends of contact 450 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 460a is compressed toward second contact arm 460b due to force from first conductive pad 282 applied to first mating contact portion 462a and force from second conductive pad 292 applied to second mating contact portion 462b. In some embodiments, a contact slot may be configured to guide first contact arm 460a and second contact arm 460b toward one another when contact 450 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 460a may extend, at least in part, toward a first surface (e.g., first surface 412 and / or first surface 432), such as where first contact arm 460a joins intermediate base portion 470 and / or between first mating contact portion 462a and first spring portion 464a. Similarly, second contact arm 460b 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 460b joins#15132403vlintermediate base portion 470 and / or between second mating contact portion 462b and second spring portion 464b.

[0065] In some embodiments, when in the compressed state, contacts 450 may have a height (from first mating contact portion 462a to second mating contact portion 462b of less than 2 mm, 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.

[0066] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an example interposer 400 having differential signal contacts 550 oriented at 180 degrees relative to each other, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 10 is a partially exploded view of the interposer 400 with differential signal contacts 550. FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the interposer 400 with differential signal contacts 550. As can be seen in FIGs. 9-11, interposer 400 may be provided with differential signal contacts 550 of the same construction as contacts 450 as described in conjunction with FIGs. 7A-8.

[0067] As described elsewhere, a pair of contacts 550-1 and 550-2 may carry differential signals. In such a circumstance, it may be advantageous for the pair of contacts to be symmetrical with respect to at least one axis. Additionally, or alternatively, it may be advantageous for the pair of contacts to be symmetrical with respect to distance to an electrically-grounded conductive shield such as the walls of a conductive member bounding the gap in which an insulative insert holding the differential pair of contacts is disposed. Providing for symmetry may improve the signal integrity of signals transmitted on the differential pair. For example, symmetry with respect to distance to ground may improve the mode conversion of the differential pair.

[0068] To achieve symmetry, a pair of contacts 550-1 and 550-2 carrying differential signals may be oriented at a 180 degree offset from one another. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the differential pair may be “front-to-fronf ’ such that an intermediate base portion of a first contact 550-1 may be distal to an intermediate base portion of a second contact 550-2. As another example, the differential pair may be “back-to-back” such that the intermediate base portion of the first contact 550-1 may be proximate to the intermediate base portion of the second contact 550-2. Generally, for contacts 550 having a geometry as shown, symmetry may be achieved when the intermediate base portion of the first contact 550-1 faces in an opposite direction to the intermediate base portion of the second contact 550-2.#15132403vl

[0069] Accordingly, for a differential pair of signal contacts each comprising a back and compliant arms, a first signal contact may be oriented with its compliant arms offset from its back in a first direction, and a second signal contract may be oriented with its compliant arms offset from its back in a second direction opposite the first direction. Alternatively, a first signal contact and a second signal contact may be oriented with respective backs adjacent to a centroid of an insert in which the signal contacts are disposed.

[0070] Additionally, or alternatively, an electrical connector may comprise a differential pair of signal contacts, a support retaining the differential pair of signal contacts, and a conductor at least partially surrounding the support, wherein the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented substantially symmetrically with respect to the conductor.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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, 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.#15132403vl

[0075] 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.

[0076] Further, exemplary materials were described for portions of the interposer. Other materials may be used.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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 advantageous herein and in some instances. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.#15132403vl

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] Also, circuits and modules depicted and described may be reordered in any order, and signals may be provided to enable reordering accordingly.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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.”

[0087] 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.#15132403vl

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.#15132403vl

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector, comprising:a plurality of ground contacts;an electrically conductive housing supporting the plurality of ground contacts and comprising a gap;an insulative insert disposed in the gap; anda plurality of signal contacts held in the insulative insert.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:the insulative insert comprises a plurality of slots; andthe plurality of signal contacts are disposed in respective slots of the plurality of slots of the insulative insert.

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

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the electrical connector is an interposer configured to facilitate electrical connection between a first contact surface and a second contact surface parallel to the first contact surface.

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.#15132403vl6. 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 the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of signal contacts comprise a differential pair of signal contacts.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented symmetrically with respect to ground.

9. The electrical connector of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrically conductive housing 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 gap comprises a plurality of gaps,the insulative insert comprises a plurality of insulative inserts disposed in the plurality of gaps, andeach insulative insert comprises at least one signal contact of the plurality of signal contacts.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein:the electrically conductive 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; andat the first surface, at least some of the plurality of insulative inserts are 360 degrees encircled by the electrically conductive housing.#15132403vl13. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the electrically conductive housing 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 housing 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 housing comprises die-cast metal.

17. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein:each signal contact of the differential pair of signal contacts comprises a back and compliant arms;a first signal contact of the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented with the compliant arms offset from the back in a first direction; anda second signal contact of the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented with the compliant arms offset from the back in a second direction opposite the first direction.

18. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein:the insulative insert comprises a centroid;each signal contact of the differential pair of signal contacts comprises a back and compliant arms; andthe signal contacts of the differential pair of signal contacts are oriented with respective backs adjacent the centroid.

19. The electrical connector of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insulative insert compri ses polytetrafluoroethylene .#15132403vl20. An electrical connector, comprising:a differential pair of signal contacts;a support retaining the differential pair of signal contacts; anda conductor at least partially surrounding the support,wherein the differential pair of signal contacts is oriented substantially symmetrically with respect to the conductor.#15132403vl

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