Impedance-Controlled Electrical Connector with Contoured Ground
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical connectors fail to maintain impedance consistency when signal conductors traverse dielectric materials with different dielectric constants, leading to impedance mismatches and signal integrity issues.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector features a lead frame with dielectric supports that hold signal and ground conductors, where the signal conductors maintain constant cross-sectional dimensions, and the ground conductors adjust their spacing to counteract impedance changes, ensuring impedance control throughout the connector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the spacing between signal conductors is increased to counteract impedance change when entering dielectric material, then impedance is maintained, but the amount of space needed for the differential pair increases, reducing the total number of conductors that may be used within a lead frame of predetermined size
Solution Approach 1:
The ground conductor is designed with non-uniform spacing: it is spaced a first distance from the exposed section of the signal conductor (outside dielectric support) and a second distance from the enclosed section of the signal conductor (within dielectric support). This local variation in spacing maintains impedance consistency when the signal conductor traverses the dielectric support while accommodating the conductor layout within a predetermined lead frame size.
2Reliability
If the width of signal conductors is reduced to counteract impedance change, then impedance is maintained and material usage decreases, but the distance between signal conductors increases, and signal attenuation may occur
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the dimensions of the signal conductor (which may attenuate the signal), the invention inverts the approach by keeping the signal conductor dimensions constant and instead varying the spacing of the ground conductor. The ground conductor is positioned at a first distance from the exposed section and a second distance from the enclosed section of the signal conductor, thereby maintaining impedance control without narrowing the signal conductor and avoiding signal attenuation.
3Ease of operation
If support bars are added to hold signal conductors within the lead frame, then conductor positioning is improved, but impedance changes when conductors traverse the dielectric material of the support bars
Solution Approach 1:
The ground conductor is configured with different spacing arrangements in different regions: a first distance from the signal conductor outside the dielectric support and a second distance from the signal conductor within the dielectric support. This local adaptation compensates for the impedance change introduced by the dielectric support bars while maintaining proper conductor positioning.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An electrical connector comprises a lead frame (160) having a mounting edge (152) and a mating edge (104) and a dielectric support (176,177,178) disposed within the lead frame. A signal conductor (162B) is held within the lead frame and extends between the mounting edge and the mating edge. The signal conductor (162B) has an enclosed section traversing the dielectric support (176,177,178) and an exposed section (195) extending beyond the dielectric support (176,177,178). The signal conductor (162B) has cross-sectional dimensions that remain substantially constant throughout a length of the signal conductor. A ground conductor (162C) extends adjacent to the signal conductor (162B). The ground conductor (162C) is contoured such that an outer surface of the ground conductor (162C) is spaced a first distance from the exposed section (195) of the signal conductor (162B) and is spaced a second distance from the enclosed section of the signal conductor (162B).