Shielded Electrical Interposer for Fine-Pitch Signal Integrity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electrical connectors face challenges in making separable connections for semiconductor devices with decreasing contact pitch, especially below 500μm, and struggle with high-speed signal transmission due to noise and crosstalk issues, which are exacerbated by the need for increased connector size and complexity.

Innovation Solution

The development of an electrical interposer with shielded contact probes and traces that include signal pins electrically coupled to ground pins and inner ground planes, providing effective shielding without increasing the connector size, allowing for reduced noise and improved signal integrity in a compact design.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional techniques are used to make separable electrical connections at 500-micron package pitch level, then connection reliability may be maintained, but manufacturing difficulty and cost increase prohibitively

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconnection reliabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The connector is divided into a housing portion and a contact assembly that can be separately manufactured and then assembled. The contact assembly includes multiple contacts arranged in a grid pattern that can be manufactured as a single unit and then integrated into the housing, enabling precise pitch alignment without requiring complex monolithic manufacturing processes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The contact assembly is nested within the housing portion, with the contacts arranged in a compact grid pattern that fits within the housing boundaries. This nested structure allows the entire connector to be manufactured in stages, with the contact array being assembled first and then integrated into the final housing structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Reliability

If grounded contact elements are positioned between every adjacent pair of differential signal pins to reduce crosstalk noise, then signal integrity improves, but pin count and connector size increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesignal integrityVSAvoidconnector size

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Grounding structures are merged with the housing portion rather than being implemented as separate contact elements between signal pins. The housing itself is configured to provide grounding and shielding functions, eliminating the need for additional dedicated ground contacts and reducing overall connector complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The housing portion serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support, electrical grounding, and electromagnetic shielding. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate grounding elements between signal pins, as the housing performs all grounding functions for the entire contact array

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If more PCB area is allocated to incorporate additional connections for shielding, then noise reduction improves, but available PCB real estate decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenoise reductionVSAvoidPCB area

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The connector provides shielding and grounding functions through vertical and lateral structures within the connector assembly itself, rather than requiring extensive horizontal PCB real estate. The housing portion and contact assembly are configured to provide electromagnetic shielding in three-dimensional space, reducing noise without consuming additional PCB area

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS12255424B2Electrical interposer with shielded contacts and shielding ground plane with optimized impedance response

Publication Date: 2025.03.18 GITECH INC

AI summary

A separable and reconnectable connector for semiconductor devices is provided that is scalable for devices having very small contact pitch. Connectors of the present disclosure include signal pins shielded by pins electrically-coupled to ground. One or more signal pins in a contact array are electrically-shielded by at least one ground pin coupled to a ground plane. Embodiments thereby provide signal pins, either single-ended or a differential pair, usable to transmit signals with reduced noise or cross-talk and thus improved signal integrity. Embodiments further provide inner ground planes coupled to connector ground pins to shield pairs of differential signal pins without increasing the size of the connector. Inner grounding layers can be formed within isolation substrates incorporated into connector embodiments between adjacent pairs of signal pins. These buried ground layers provide additional crosstalk isolation in close proximity to signal pins, resulting in improved signal integrity in a significantly reduced space.