What You Need to Know About a Board to Board Connector
Board-to-board connectors make strong vertical connections between printed circuit boards. They’re available in through-hole and surface mount technologies.
Choosing the right BTB connector can have a big impact on your PCB design. You have to consider several factors including form factor, signal integrity and connection method. The AX01 floating board-to-board connector family achieves both high-speed transmission and reliable contacts by using a new stubless two-point contact structure.
Choosing the Right Connector
Board-to-board connectors allow electronic signals to be transmitted between two printed circuit boards (PCB) without a cable. They can be used for a number of purposes, from power and data transmission to signal distribution and interconnection. Selecting the right type of connector is important to ensure that board to board connector your devices work reliably. It is also necessary to consider environmental parameters and the connector’s termination and connection mode.
Before selecting a board-to-board connector, you should identify the electrical requirements of your application. Determine how many signals you need to transmit, what their current and voltage are, and whether they are analog or digital. These factors can influence the connector’s geometry, pin arrangement and wiring.
The connector’s performance parameters are determined by its metal and insulating materials, the environment in which it is used, the amount of humidity and abrupt temperature changes, atmospheric pressure and corrosive conditions. For example, if you need to use the connector in an environment with a high concentration of salt spray or SO2, you should choose a corrosion-resistant metal.
In addition, you should take into account the number of mating cycles the connector can withstand over its lifetime. This is especially critical if your device is designed to be used in harsh and hazardous environments, as failure of the connector may put lives at risk.
Pins
The pins that connect boards to each other are one of the most important aspects of a board-to-board connector. They are usually made of copper alloys that can be plated with different materials to improve conductivity performance and physical endurance. These alloys include gold, silver, beryllium copper, tin, and other metals. They may also have a variety of finish plating options that improve corrosion resistance and solderability.
The type of pins used for a connector depends on the application. For example, high-speed signal transmissions require edge rate contacts that can reduce broadside coupling and crosstalk. Other applications may need a compression style connector element that can be pressed between the two boards to achieve electrical contact. These types of connections are often used in space-constrained applications or to separate sensitive analog or RF circuits from noisy digital components.
Choosing the right pins is important because it impacts the overall quality of the connector and its functionality. If you use a header connector, for example, it must match the mating female socket in your board design. Using the right header pins will ensure that your board-to-board connections are reliable. Header pins are available in through-hole, surface mount and right angle versions to suit a variety of PCB layouts. They are also available in different pin spacings to fit different circuit designs.
Insulators
The insulators that make up board-to-board connectors are the key to their performance and functionality. They hold the conductors (pins) together to create the shape of the connector and help withstand electrical and mechanical stress. Different insulators offer different performance capabilities, including strength, weatherability and chemical resistance.
Board-to-board connectors can be found in a range of applications, from high-speed trains and industrial controls to data center storage and switching systems. They are used where space limitations prevent a single, larger printed circuit board from housing critical components. These connectors are also a useful solution for separating sensitive analog or RF circuits from noisy digital ones, or where thermal management requirements require a separate PCB for hotter components.
As the world moves toward miniaturization, demand for more connections in less space is increasing. For these applications, it is necessary to have solutions that can accommodate tighter pin pitches. For example, for the 0.8mm pitch market, Amphenol offers several solutions including the MEG-Array, XCede and BergStak.
The header of a board-to-board connector is the determinant in choosing what type to use. It is available in two different types: a box header that completely encapsulates its contacts and a pin header that exposes them. It also comes in two gender settings — male connectors, sometimes referred to as plugs and female connectors or receptacles.
Orientation
Board orientation helps new members understand the Board-to-Board Connector Supplier full scope of their role. The onboarding process allows the club to set up new relationships with key department heads and provides staff an opportunity to introduce themselves, discuss their roles and highlight unique capabilities. It is also a time to build trust and familiarity between the boards.
Many factors determine the quality of a board-to-board connector. Some of the most important are signal integrity and density. A high-quality connector will provide premium signal quality with reduced power loss, reflections and crosstalk. A higher density will allow more differential pairs and signals to be connected to a single board, which will increase speed and efficiency.
A connector’s physical structure will also have a direct effect on its performance. Board-to-board connectors are available in a range of configurations, including parallel and right-angle. Parallel types are designed to connect PCBs in a side-by-side horizontal position. Right-angle connectors are designed to align with a mating connector on the other board. Board-to-board connectors are also available in different pitches, mated heights and plating finishes to meet specific requirements.
Choosing the best board to board connector for your application is essential. Panasonic offers a wide variety of options, from low profile, space-saving types ideal for compact equipment to backplane and mezzanine connectors that are compatible with industry standards such as 10GBASE-KR and PCIe Gen3. These products are available in both thru-hole and surface mount pin configurations, and have varying numbers of positions and pitch sizes from 0.35 mm to 2.54 mm.
