TW201306377A - Serial link interconnection arrangement for backplane with embedded waveguide - Google Patents

Abstract

A serial link interconnection arrangement for interconnecting a first printed circuit board (BoardA) with a second printed circuit board (BoardB), both boards being inserted in a backplane of a telecommunication system. The arrangement comprises a waveguide embedded in the backplane. A first end (WavA) of the waveguide is coupled to the first board (BoardA) via a first connection system (ConA), whilst the second end (WavB) of the waveguide is coupled to the second board (BoardB) via a second connection system (ConB). Each of the connection systems (ConA; ConB) comprises a transceiver (IntA; IntB) adapted to convert a parallel signal received from the printed circuit board (BoardA; BoardB) into a serial stream transmitted to an end (WavA; WavB) of the waveguide via an antenna (AntA; AntB), and vice-versa.

Description

Tandem link interconnect configuration with embedded waveguide for backplane

The present invention relates to a tandem link interconnection arrangement for interconnecting a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board, the two printed circuit boards being inserted into the backplane of the telecommunications system.

A current technique for interconnecting printed circuit boards (PCBs) is to use copper traces to connect the connectors of the inserted circuit boards on the backplane. Current backplane technology provides 10 Gbps serial transmission speeds between printed circuit boards on the backplane.

Standardization work on serial transmission at 25 to 28 Gbps on the backplane is currently underway. Passive channels that include the backplane connector and the copper rails on the backplane have been shown to provide only limited bandwidth to the channel. The current highest speed is less than 25 GHz, and at longer distances, typically 60 to 100 cm, the attenuation is severe.

However, for many applications, such as for telecommunications systems, in order to limit the number of pins/transceivers and corresponding power consumption, it is necessary to provide higher speed serial transmissions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tandem connection configuration of the type known above, but which provides a reliable high speed path between two printed circuit boards (PCBs) inserted into the backplane, such as a tandem link speed of greater than 25 Gbps.

According to a characteristic embodiment of the present invention, the reason for achieving the purpose is that the serial link interconnection configuration includes a waveguide embedded in the bottom plate, the first end of the waveguide being coupled to the first printing via the first connection system a circuit board, and the second end of the waveguide is coupled to the second printed circuit board via a second connection system, each of the two connection systems including a transceiver adapted to receive a received from the printed circuit board The parallel signal is converted to a serial stream that is transmitted through one antenna to one end of the waveguide and vice versa.

In this way, the present invention can provide a high speed serial link interconnection configuration in which a connection system associated with a waveguide embedded in a backplane can be achieved between high speed serial streams, for example, at a speed greater than 25 Gbps, between printed circuit boards. The purpose of transmitting information.

Another feature embodiment of the invention is that each of the printed circuit boards has an external connector adapted to be coupled to a parallel connection busbar of the transceiver.

Another feature embodiment of the present invention is that the external connector has a plurality of copper pads, and the parallel connection bus bar has a plurality of external pins adapted to be coupled to the individual copper pads of the external connector.

In this way, the transfer between the printed circuit board and the transceiver can be performed via a "low speed" parallel interface.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plurality of external pins have a Land Grid Array (LGA) style.

Contact Grid Array (LGA) connectors are typically used to connect a Central Processing Unit (CPU) to a motherboard. LGA type connectors can be advantageously used to solve problems such as mechanical alignment and interconnectivity.

Another feature embodiment of the invention is that the transceiver is powered by the printed circuit board through the external connector.

This is a simple and reliable way to supply power to the transceiver.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transceiver is erected on the base plate in an elastic manner.

As a result, the interconnectivity between the transceiver and the external connector can be improved.

Further features of the high speed serial link interconnection arrangement of the present invention are disclosed in the appended claims.

It should be noted that the terms "comprising" or "including" in the scope of the patent application should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to the device. Therefore, in the following sentence: "a device including tools A and B" does not mean that in the embodiment, the device consists only of tools A and B. It means that tools A and B are the necessary tools for the device.

Similarly, it should be noted that the term "coupled" as used in the scope of the patent application does not mean that it is limited to direct connection. Therefore, in the following sentence: "Device A is coupled to device B" means that in an embodiment, the output of device A is not limited to the input directly connected to device B. It means that there may be a path between the output of device A and the input of device B, and the path may include other devices or tools.

The serial link interconnection of the present invention is disposed on a backplane, such as a telecommunications system Waveguide technology is used in the backplane to allow the printed circuit board BoardA to transmit information to another printed circuit board, BoardB, as shown in Figure 1.

The printed circuit board BoardA and BoardB are inserted into the backplane, and the waveguide is embedded in the backplane and has an end point that exits the backplane near the board.

The first end of the waveguide WavA is coupled to the first printed circuit board BoardA through the first connection system ConA, and the second end of the waveguide WavB is coupled to the second through the second connection system ConB similar to the first connection system ConA. Printed circuit board BoardB.

The connection systems ConA and ConB can couple the two boards BoardA and BoardB through a waveguide in a serial stream. Therefore, each connection system ConA/ConB includes a transceiver IntA/lntB adapted to convert a parallel signal received from the printed circuit board BoardA/BoardB into one end transmitted to the waveguide WavA/WavB through an antenna AntA/AntB. The serial stream, and vice versa. Transceivers or transmit and receive circuits IntA and IntB included in the connection system of the backplane solve problems such as mechanical alignment and interconnectivity.

Figure 2 shows one of two similar connection systems, such as a detailed view of ConA. The connection system ConA includes two portions for interposing a waveguide embedded in the bottom plate: a first portion fixed to the BoardA; and a second portion fixed to the bottom plate.

The first part of the connection system ConA is an external connector on the board A that is inserted into the backplane, which provides a "low speed" parallel interface. . The connector includes a small printed circuit and a copper pad PadA and interfaces with a second portion of the connection system.

The second part of the connection system ConA is located on the bottom plate and consists of an active component, such as the transmitter IntA, which takes a "low speed" parallel interface from the first part of the connection system ConA and converts the signals of the parallel bus to the antenna Ant to be integrated. A serial stream that is transmitted to the waveguide.

The parallel connection bus of the transceiver IntA is coupled to the external connector ExtA via an external pin PinA, and the external pin PinA is adapted to be connected to the individual copper pad PadA of the printed circuit board BoardA. The external pin PinA preferably has a Land Grid Array (LGA) style.

For example, the active component IntA can be powered by the same type of pin used for the parallel busbars, that is, the external connector ExtA, by the board BoardA embedded in one slot of the backplane.

The active component or transceiver IntA is preferably mounted in an elastic manner on the base plate to achieve proper alignment and proper contact with the first portion of the connection system ConA.

The contact grid array type of the connection system is used between the first part and the second part of the connection system, and the spring type Sprl of the system is used between the active element IntA and the bottom plate to improve alignment to ensure sufficient strength at the joint Complete the connection. The system's spring type Sprg further secures the transceiver IntA to the backplane.

It should be noted that the design and operation of the connection system ConA of the serial link interconnection configuration has been explained above, but on the receiver side, that is, on the printing side. The location of the brush board BoardB will have the opposite action. In Figure 1, the printed circuit board BoardB is labeled the same as BoardA except that the last letter A is replaced by B.

Finally, it is to be noted that embodiments of the invention are described in terms of functional blocks. From the functional description of the above blocks, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of these blocks can be fabricated using known electronic components. The detailed architectural content of these functional blocks is not specifically indicated here.

Although the principles of the present invention have been described above by way of specific devices, it should be understood that the description is only exemplary, and the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Further objects and features of the present invention, as well as the invention itself, will be more readily understood by reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. A high speed interconnected serial link interconnect configuration; and Fig. 2 is a further illustration of the connection system ConA of the tandem link interconnect configuration of Fig. 1.

Claims (10)

A tandem link interconnection arrangement for interconnecting a first printed circuit board (Board A) and a second printed circuit board (Board B), the two printed circuit boards being inserted into a bottom plate of a telecommunication system, wherein the serial link The interconnect configuration includes a waveguide embedded in the backplane, wherein the first end of the waveguide (WavA) is coupled to the first printed circuit board (Board A) via a first connection system (ConA), and the second end of the waveguide (WavB) is coupled to the second printed circuit board (Board B) via a second connection system (ConB), and wherein each of the two connection systems (ConA; ConB) includes a transceiver (IntA; IntB), which is suitable The parallel signal received from the printed circuit board (Board A; BoardB) is converted into a serial stream that is transmitted through the antenna (AntA; AntB) to one end of the waveguide (WavA; WavB), and vice versa. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 1, wherein each of the printed circuit boards (Board A; BoardB) has a juxtaposition suitable for being coupled to the transceiver (IntA; IntB) Connect the external connector of the bus (ExtA; ExtB). The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 2, wherein the external connector (ExtA; ExtB) has a plurality of copper pads (PadA; PadB), and wherein the parallel connection bus system has a plurality of An external pin (PinA; PinB) adapted to be coupled to the external copper pad (PadA; PadB) of the external connector (ExtA; ExtB). The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 2, wherein the external connector (ExtA; ExtB) is a small printed circuit board. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 3, wherein the plurality of external pins (PinA; PinB) have a Land Grid Array (LGA) style. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 2, wherein the transceiver (IntA; IntB) is powered by the printed circuit board (Board A; BoardB) through the external connector (ExtA; ExtB). The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 1, wherein the antenna (AntA; AntB) is coupled to the waveguide and adapted to transmit a signal from the transceiver (IntA; IntB) to the waveguide, and vice versa. Also. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 1, wherein the parallel signal of the printed circuit board (Board A; BoardB) is a relatively low speed signal. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 1, wherein the transceiver (IntA; IntB) is erected on the bottom plate in an elastic manner. The tandem link interconnection configuration of claim 9, wherein the transceiver (IntA; IntB) is fixed to the bottom plate by a spring (Sprg).