What Is a Board to Board Connector?
Board to board connectors connect power and signal between PCBs. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and orientations. They also feature copper alloy plating to resist oxidation and maintain conductivity over time.
They may be mounted through-hole or surface mount technology. Both have different benefits and uses.
Type
Board-to-board connectors are miniature coupled plugs and sockets that directly connect power and signal between circuit boards. They provide flexibility in design and assembly while providing a reliable electrical connection that ensures the integrity of signals and currents over time. They are typically plated with copper alloy that resists oxidation to prevent degraded conductivity.
Various connectors are designed to suit different needs and working conditions. For example, some are hermetically sealed or resistant to chemicals while others feature filters to block EMI. There are also those that offer a locking mechanism to prevent accidental disconnections.
The type of board-to-board connector you choose will depend on the pin pitch and stack height requirements of your project. You can use the schematic symbols and footprints in your PCB layout software to find the best match. You can also search online component suppliers for the right connectors and compare their features to see which one is right for your needs.
In addition to board-to-board connectors, Amphenol also offers a wide range of backplane and mezzanine solutions for high-speed applications. Their XCede and AirMAX connectors meet industry standard applications for mezzanine, orthogonal, and coplanar connections with stacking heights up to 25Gb/s. The GradConn range of high-speed connectors enables you to create a mated pair with the highest signal quality possible without sacrificing space.
Pitch
The pitch of a board-to-board connector is the distance between the board to board connector center of one terminal pin and the next. This measurement is important because it can affect performance and cost. For example, a connector with a lower pitch can be more affordable than one with a higher pitch because it takes up less space on the circuit board. However, a connector with a larger pitch may be more expensive because it requires more precision to assemble.
In addition to pitch, board-to-board connectors can also feature a number of other special features. These can include connection methods, such as locking connectors that prevent unauthorized disconnection or quick connect products that use a twist and seat contact method. They can also be designed to withstand environmental conditions such as chemicals or extreme temperatures. Finally, some connectors can be fitted with filters to reduce electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.
The pitch of a board to board connector can also affect its compatibility with other electronic components. For example, some high-speed connectors have a narrower pitch and smaller stacker height than standard connectors to minimize interference with other signals. Others have a higher pitch to support faster data transmissions.
Stack Height
Board-to-board connectors need to provide premium signal integrity, which requires reduced power loss, reflections and crosstalk. They also need to be durable and capable of handling the high-speed data transmission demanded by many applications.
A new product from Kyocera offers a solution for both requirements in its 5655 series electronic board-to-board connectors. With a stacking height of only 4mm and a 0.5mm-pitch, these connectors offer the thinnest possible profile for this class. They are optimized for high-speed MIPI D-PHY data transmission in self-driving vehicles and other automotive electronics.
When space is at a premium, board-to-board connectors are used to mate two circuit boards together. This allows for a reduction in size, which can make products lighter and smaller. It can also help to reduce the cost of a design.
Phoenix Contact offers a range of board-to-board connectors Board-to-Board Connector Supplier that enable varying mating distances, or stack heights, with different mounting styles. For example, the FINEPITCH 0.8 family of shielded and unshielded connectors includes male and female connectors with a range of heights. This makes it easy to find the right combination of heights and mounting styles for a given application.
In addition, the 5807 series of 0.4mm pitch board-to-board connectors have an ultra-low stacking height of 0.7mm when mating plug and receptacle connectors. This helps to facilitate downsizing in consumer electronic equipment like laptops, mobile phones and audio equipment. The bottom surfaces of these connectors are insulated to avoid exposure of the contacts, which helps to reduce the overall thickness of the device. The connectors feature a narrow body width of 1.9mm, which is 20% thinner than conventional solutions. They also feature milled contacts, which improves durability and cycle life by reducing wear tracks on the surface of the contacts.
Pins
Board-to-board connectors come in a wide range of pin configurations and pitches. They may feature gold, silver or copper-plated contacts to improve their conductive abilities and reduce contact resistance. Alternatively, they may use insulating materials like polyurethane or plastic. Connectors with insulated pins can also be made to be quick-connect or press-fit. Quick-connect products are used for temporary connections and typically have a screw mechanism that locks and seats the connection, while press-fit connectors require no soldering.
Other features of PCB connectors include polarization and keying, which ensure correct connections. Some also have locking mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disconnection. Others have molded-in slots to position the connector element. These slots allow for compression when the connector is squeezed between two boards, and ribs help the component to maintain alignment. Floating connectors are another option that can absorb tolerances during the assembly process.
Choosing the right board-to-board connector can save time and money during the design and production stages of a circuit board. It is important to follow the manufacturer’s datasheet and check the pin-out footprint on both the PCB and the connector. This will help ensure that the correct pins are positioned on both sides of the connector, and that the mating connectors have matching footprints. In addition, it is critical to choose a board-to-board connector with the right size pins for the specific PCB pad layout.
