KR20230122783A - Electrical connector for signal transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

The electrical connector includes a signal via 12 and first and second ground vias 13 and 14 disposed in a first insulating substrate 11 . A first ground plane 15 is formed on the first insulating substrate 11 . The first contact elements 21 are formed on the first ground plane 15 and connected to signal vias 12 respectively to form a set of signal pins P1 electrically isolated from the first ground plane 15. . The second contact elements 22 are formed on the first ground plane 15 and connected to the first ground vias 13 respectively to form a set of ground pins P2. Each signal pin P1 is shielded by at least one ground pin P2 and at least one second ground via 14 . The second ground via 14 has no contact elements.

Description

Electrical connector for signal transmission {ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR SIGNAL TRANSMISSION}

The present disclosure relates to electrical connectors for signal transmission, and more particularly to electrical connectors comprising shielded signal vias and contact elements.

Land grid array (LGA) refers to an array of metal pads (also called lands) used as electrical contacts on integrated circuit packages, printed circuit boards, or other electronic components. Metal pads are typically formed by lithographically defining and etching in an insulating surface or substrate. It is common to then coat the surface with a film of gold or other noble metal to provide a non-oxidizing surface. A ball grid array (BGA) refers to an array of solder balls or solder bumps used as electrical contacts to an integrated circuit package. Both LGA and BGA packages are widely used in the semiconductor industry and each has its associated strengths and weaknesses. For example, LGA packages are typically less expensive to manufacture than ball grid array (BGA) packages because they do not require the formation of solder balls or solder bumps. However, LGA packages are typically more difficult to assemble into PC boards or multi-chip modules. LGA connectors are commonly used to provide removable and re-pluggable socket functionality for LGA packages connected to PC boards or chip modules.

Advances in semiconductor technology have reduced dimensions within semiconductor integrated circuits, particularly pitches for contacts on silicon dies or semiconductor packages. The pitch, ie the spacing between each electrical contact (also referred to as "lead") on a semiconductor device is rapidly decreasing in certain applications. For example, contact pads on a semiconductor wafer may have a pitch of 250 microns or less. At the 250 micron pitch level, using existing techniques to make separable electrical connections to these semiconductor devices is prohibitively difficult and costly. The problem becomes even more critical as contact pad pitches on semiconductor devices decrease to less than 50 microns and simultaneous connections to multiple contact pads in an array are required.

Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an electrical connector that is detachable and remountable, capable of transmitting signals with reduced crosstalk and improved signal integrity, while maintaining a compact size.

According to the present disclosure, an electrical connector for signal transmission including a core unit and a contact unit is disclosed.

The core unit includes a first insulating substrate having a plurality of via holes, a plurality of signal vias, first ground vias, and second ground vias, all of which are respectively disposed in the via holes, and on a first surface of the first insulating substrate and a first ground plane formed on and electrically coupled to the first and second ground vias.

The contact unit is located on the core unit and includes a plurality of first contact elements and a plurality of second contact elements. The first contact elements are formed on the first ground plane and are respectively connected to the signal vias to form a set of signal pins. Each of the first contact elements and each of the signal vias are electrically insulated from the first ground plane. Second contact elements are formed on the first ground plane and are respectively connected to the first ground vias to form a set of ground pins.

Each signal pin is shielded from an adjacent one of the signal pins by at least one of the ground pins and at least one of the second ground vias. The second ground via has no contact element formed on the first ground plane.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is an exploded perspective view showing an electrical connector according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing signal and ground members and terminals of an electrical connector;
3 is a partially enlarged side view of the first embodiment.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the first embodiment showing signal and ground members, terminals and ground planes of an electrical connector;
Fig. 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the first embodiment showing signal and ground members, terminals and ground planes of an electrical connector;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the first embodiment showing electronic components connectable to the electrical connector;
7 is an exploded perspective view showing an electrical connector according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure having a differential signal pair.
8 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the second embodiment showing an electric connector in which a first insulating board between a first ground plane and a second ground plane is omitted.
9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an electrical connector according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a third embodiment.

Before the present disclosure is described in more detail, it is noted that reference numbers or terminal portions of reference numbers have been repeated between the drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements that may optionally have similar properties, where deemed appropriate.

1 shows an electrical connector according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical connector includes a core unit (1), a contact unit (2) located on the core unit (1), and two cover plates (9) disposed on the opposite two outer sides of the core unit (1). Each cover plate 9 is assembled via an adhesive layer 91 . In the first embodiment, two opposite sides of the electrical connector are configured to connect two electrical components, and the connecting points are distributed in a two-dimensional matrix array. However, the electrical connector is not limited to this.

1 to 3, the core unit 1 includes a first insulating substrate 11, a plurality of signal vias 12, a plurality of first ground vias 13, a plurality of second ground vias ( 14), a first ground plane 15 and a second ground via 15. The first insulating substrate 11 has a plurality of via holes 110 . The signal via 12 , the first ground via 13 , and the second ground via 14 are all disposed in the via hole 110 of the first insulating substrate 11 , respectively. The first ground plane 15 is formed on the first surface 111 of the first insulating substrate 11 and is electrically coupled to the first and second ground vias 13 and 14 . The second ground plane 16 is formed on the second surface 111 ′ of the first insulating substrate 11 and is electrically coupled to the first ground via 13 and the second ground via 14 . The second surface 111 ′ is opposite the first surface 111 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 , via holes 110 are arranged in rows crossing first and second directions D1 and D2 . Among the via holes 110 of the first insulating substrate 11, the distance L1 between two adjacent via holes 110 in the first direction D1 is It is greater than the distance L2 between two adjacent via holes 110 in the second direction D2.

The signal via 12 has a similar configuration to the first and second ground vias 13 and 14 , but has a different function from that of the first and second ground vias 13 and 14 . In this embodiment, signal via 12, first ground via 13 and second ground via 14 are bar-shaped rather than hollow and each has two opposite ends. However, configurations of the signal via 12 , the first ground via 13 , and the second ground via 14 are not limited thereto.

Each of the first and second ground planes 15 and 16 is made of an electrically conductive material and has a plurality of isolation holes H each having a hole boundary. Each isolation hole H has a cross section larger than that of each signal via 12 . Each signal via 12 is one of the isolation holes H of the first ground plane 15 and one of the isolation holes H of the second ground plane 16, and has a hole boundary of each isolation hole H. Extending out of contact, signal via 12 is electrically insulated from first and second ground planes 15 and 16 .

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4 , the contact unit 2 includes a plurality of first contact elements 21 and a plurality of second contact elements 22 . First contact elements 21 are formed on the first ground plane 15 and connected to signal vias 12 respectively to form a set of signal pins P1. Each of the signal via 12 and the first contact element 21 extends into one of the isolation holes H of the first ground plane 15 without contacting the hole boundary of the corresponding isolation hole H, so that the signal via 12 ) and the first contact element 21 is electrically insulated from the first ground plane 15 . The second contact elements 22 are formed on the first ground plane 15 and connected to the first ground vias 13 respectively to form a set of ground pins P2. The second ground via 14 has no contact elements formed on the first ground plane 15 and thus forms a hidden or buried ground pin. The first and second contact elements 21 and 22 are arranged in rows crossing along the first and second directions D1 and D2 and are disposed on the surface of the first ground plane 15 . Each of the first and second contact elements 21, 22 has a compliant spring probe.

The contact unit 2 further includes a plurality of third contact elements 23 and a plurality of fourth contact elements 24 . The third contact elements 23 are respectively connected to the signal vias 12 on opposite sides of the first contact elements 21 . The fourth contact elements 24 are respectively connected to the first ground vias 13 on opposite sides of the second contact elements 22 . The arrangement of the third and fourth contact elements 23 and 24 arranged on the second ground plane 16 is similar to that arranged on the first ground plane 15 as shown in FIG. 4 . Since the second ground plane 16 has an isolation hole H for isolating the third contact element 23 and the signal via 12 from the ground plane 16, the third contact element 23 and the signal via (12) is electrically insulated from the second ground plane (16). In this embodiment, the configuration of the third and fourth contact elements 23 and 24 is similar to that of the first and second contact elements 21 and 22 which are compliant spring probes. In another embodiment, the third and fourth contact elements 23 and 24 differ in configuration from the first and second contact elements 21 and 22 .

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 in conjunction with FIG. 1 , signal pin P1 is a single-ended signal pin. Each of the signal pins P1 is adjacent to one of the ground pins P2 in a first direction D1 and adjacent to one of the second ground vias 14 in a second direction D2. Accordingly, each signal pin P1 is shielded by at least one of the ground pins P2 and at least one of the second ground vias 14 from another one of the signal pins P1.

Referring to FIG. 6 in combination with FIGS. 3 and 5 , the first and second contact elements 21 , 22 may be electrically coupled respectively to a contact 81 of the electronic component 8 to be tested. As shown in FIG. 6 , when placed in contact with the electronic component 8 , the first and second contact elements 21 , 22 are pressed by the electronic component 8 . In this embodiment, the cover plate 9 has a recess 90 which exposes the first and second contact elements 21 and 22 respectively and allows them to be moved and deformed therein. Thus, the electrical connector can establish an electrical connection with the electronic component 8 in a detachable manner.

As mentioned above, the distance L1 in the first direction D1 is greater than the distance L2 in the second direction D2 as shown in FIG. 4 . 4 shows that the distance L3 between two adjacent rows of the first and second contact elements 21 and 22 in the first direction D1 is the first and second contact elements in the second direction D2 ( 21, 22) is smaller than the distance L4 between two adjacent rows. In one embodiment, adjacent via holes 110 are spaced apart by a distance L1 of 1 mm in the first direction D1 and spaced apart by a distance L2 of 0.63 mm in the second direction D2. Adjacent rows of first and second contact elements 21 and 23 are spaced apart by a distance L3 of 1 mm in the first direction D1 and spaced apart by a distance L4 of 1.27 mm in the second direction D2.

Since the second ground via 14 is a buried ground via without a contact element, the distance L2 between adjacent via holes 110 in the second direction D2 is equal to the distance L1 in the first direction D1 The overall dimensions of the electrical connector of the present disclosure can be reduced without sacrificing signal integrity. Further, even if the adjacent rows of the first and second contact elements 21 and 22 are spaced apart by the second ground via 14 in the second direction D2, the gap between the adjacent rows of the contact elements 21 and 22 The distance L4 is not twice the distance L3 in the first direction. Rather, distance L4 is only slightly greater than distance L3. In this way, the electrical connector maintains a compact size while providing effective and complete ground shielding of the signal pin P1.

7 and 8 show an electrical connector according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the signal pins P1 are formed in pairs. Each of the pairs is shielded from an adjacent pair by at least one of the ground pins P2 in the first direction D1 and at least one of the second ground vias 14 in the second direction D2. Each pair of signal pins P1 forms a differential signal pair. Since the second ground via 14 electrically shields a pair of adjacent signal pins P1 in the second direction D2, the distance L2 between the via holes 110 in the second direction is equal to the distance in the first direction It decreases compared to (L1). Like the first embodiment, this embodiment can also transmit signals with reduced crosstalk and improved signal integrity while overall dimensions can be minimized.

9 and 10 show an electrical connector according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the second ground plane 16 of the core unit 1 of the first and second embodiments is not provided. Instead, the core unit 1 of the third embodiment includes a second insulating substrate 17, a third ground plane 18 disposed between the first and second insulating substrates 11 and 17, and a third ground plane 18. ) and a fourth ground plane 18' formed on the lower surface of the second smoke substrate 17 on the opposite side of the . The third ground plane 18 is formed inside the plurality of blank areas 180, the ground area 181 formed around the blank area 180, and each blank area 180, and is electrically insulated from the ground area 181. has a pair of signal traces 182.

Some of the signal vias 12 are electrically coupled to the signal traces 182. As shown in FIG. 10, each signal trace 182 has a first end 182a electrically connected to one of the signal pins P1 and a second end connected to the other signal pin P1 (not shown). (182b); The two signal pins P1 connected to each signal trace 182 are located at different locations of the core unit 1 . As thus configured, the signal trace 182 can be used to connect a contact element located at a first position of the core unit 1 to another contact element located at a second position of the core unit 1 . The electrical connector in this embodiment can function as a PC bridge connecting the signal connections of two PC boards.

In the foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment marked with an ordinal number, or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in practice of the present disclosure. In the description, various features are often grouped together in a single embodiment, drawing, or description thereof in order to simplify the disclosure and facilitate understanding of various inventive aspects, where one or more features or specific details of an embodiment are appropriate in the practice of the present disclosure. It should also be understood that other embodiments may be practiced with one or more features or specific details.

Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to what is considered exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but includes various configurations included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation to include all such modifications and equivalent configurations. It is understood that it is intended to

Claims (15)

As an electrical connector,
core unit,
Including a contact unit located on the core unit,
The core unit,
a first insulating substrate having via holes;
A plurality of signal vias, first ground vias and second ground vias, all of which are respectively disposed in the via holes;
a first ground plane formed on a first surface of the first insulating substrate and electrically coupled to the first and second ground vias;
The contact unit is
a plurality of first contact elements formed on the first ground plane and each connected to the signal vias to form a set of signal pins, each of the first contact elements and each of the signal vias electrically insulated from the first ground plane; Become - wow,
a plurality of second contact elements formed on the first ground plane and connected to the first ground vias to form a set of ground pins;
Each of the signal pins is shielded from an adjacent one of the signal pins by at least one of the ground pins and at least one of the second ground vias, the second ground vias having no contact elements formed on the first ground plane.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 1,
The via holes are arranged in rows crossing along the first and second directions.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 2,
each of the signal pins is adjacent to one of the ground pins in a first direction and adjacent to one of the second ground vias in a second direction, each of the signal pins extending from another one of the signal pins to at least one of the ground pins; and shielded by at least one of the second ground vias.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 3,
The signal pin is a single-ended signal pin
electrical connectors.
According to claim 3,
The signal pins are formed in pairs, and each pair is shielded by at least one of the ground pins in the first direction and at least one of the second ground vias in the second direction.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 5,
Each pair of signal pins forms a differential signal pair.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 1,
The first ground plane has a plurality of isolation holes each having a hole boundary, and each of the signal via and the first contact element extends into one of the isolation holes without contacting a corresponding one of the hole boundary to form the signal via and wherein the first contact element is electrically insulated from the first ground plane.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 7,
Each of the isolation holes has a cross section larger than the cross section of each of the signal vias.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 7,
The core unit further includes a second ground plane formed on a second surface of the first insulating substrate and electrically coupled to the first ground via and the second ground via, the second surface comprising the first ground via. 1 surface, wherein each of the signal via and the first contact element is electrically insulated from the first and second ground planes.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 9,
The second ground plane has a plurality of isolation holes each having a hole boundary, and each of the signal vias is one of the isolation holes of the second ground plane without contacting a corresponding one of the hole boundaries of the second ground plane. extending into one so that the signal via is electrically insulated from the second ground plane.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 9,
the contact unit further comprises a plurality of third contact elements respectively connected to the signal vias on opposite sides of the first contact elements and a plurality of fourth contact elements respectively connected to the first ground vias on opposite sides of the second contact elements; do,
Each of the third contact element and the signal via is electrically insulated from the second ground plane.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 2,
A distance between two adjacent via holes of the first insulating substrate in the first direction is greater than a distance between two adjacent via holes of the first insulating substrate in the second direction
electrical connectors.
According to claim 12,
Each of the first and second contact elements has a compliant spring probe.
electrical connectors.
According to claim 2,
The core unit further includes a second insulating substrate and a third ground plane disposed between the first and second insulating substrates,
The third ground plane includes at least one blank area, a ground area formed around the at least one blank area, and at least one formed in the at least one blank area without contacting the ground area and shielded from the ground area. having a signal trace
electrical connectors.
According to claim 14,
The at least one blank area includes a plurality of blank areas, the at least one signal trace includes a pair of signal traces, each pair of the signal traces is disposed within one of the blank areas, and some electrically coupled to the signal traces
electrical connectors.

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