CN115411551A

CN115411551A - Card, method for manufacturing the same, and electrical connector having the same

Info

Publication number: CN115411551A
Application number: CN202110592858.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 曾涛; 廖雷; 刘奇嘉
Original assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Current assignee: Amphenol Commercial Products Chengdu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-28
Filing date: 2021-05-28
Publication date: 2022-11-29

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a card, a method of manufacturing the same, and an electrical connector having the same. The card insertion includes: a base having first and second opposite ends along a first direction; n rows of first conductive terminals arranged along a second direction, wherein the n rows of first conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the first end, n is not less than 2 and is an integer, and the second direction is different from the first direction; m rows of second conductive terminals arranged along the second direction, wherein the m rows of second conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the second end, and m is more than or equal to 2 and is an integer; and a plurality of conductive traces disposed within the substrate, the n rows of first conductive terminals being electrically connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals through the plurality of conductive traces. The paddle card may have a smaller dimension in both the first direction and the second direction. The electric connector adopting the plug-in card can effectively solve the problems of crosstalk, signal attenuation, signal deviation and the like in the signal transmission process, thereby ensuring the integrity of signal transmission.

Description

Card, method for manufacturing the same, and electrical connector having the same

Technical Field

The invention relates to a plug-in card, a manufacturing method thereof and an electric connector with the plug-in card.

Background

As the data traffic of an electronic device increases, the number of transmission channels on an electrical connector for the electronic device increases, resulting in an increase in the size of the electrical connector. However, this is contrary to the miniaturization of electronic devices, which requires sufficient space for the mating electrical connectors. Taking the electrical connector on the electronic device as the socket electrical connector as an example, when the number of the gold fingers on the plug electrical connector is increased, the width of the socket electrical connector is increased accordingly.

In order to avoid hindering miniaturization of the electronic device, the gold fingers 11 on the card 10 of the plug electrical connector 1 are arranged in multiple rows to reduce the width of the front end (i.e., the plug end) of the card 10, thereby adapting to a smaller receptacle electrical connector (not shown). A row of conductive terminals 12 at the rear end of the paddle card 10 can be connected to a cable. The housing of the plug electrical connector 1 is omitted for clarity in showing the rear conductive terminals 12. The gold finger 11 and the conductive terminal 12 may be connected to each other by a conductive trace 13 inside the card 10. In practice, however, such plug electrical connectors transmit signals with poor integrity.

Disclosure of Invention

To at least partially solve the problems of the prior art, according to one aspect of the present invention, a card is provided. The card comprises a substrate having a first end and a second end opposite to each other along a first direction; n rows of first conductive terminals arranged along a second direction, wherein the n rows of first conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the first end, n is not less than 2 and is an integer, and the second direction is different from the first direction; m rows of second conductive terminals arranged along the second direction, wherein the m rows of second conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the second end, and m is not less than 2 and is an integer; and a plurality of conductive traces disposed within the substrate, the n rows of first conductive terminals being electrically connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals through the plurality of conductive traces.

Illustratively, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

Illustratively, one or more of the plurality of conductive traces are differential pairs of conductive traces for transmitting differential signals, the two conductive traces in each differential pair of conductive traces having equal lengths.

Illustratively, each of the plurality of conductive traces includes a first connection end electrically connected to the first conductive terminal, a second connection end electrically connected to the second conductive terminal, and an intermediate section connected between the first connection end and the second connection end, the intermediate section being straight.

Illustratively, at least 85% of each of the plurality of conductive traces is straight.

Illustratively, the straight portions of the plurality of conductive traces are angled in a range of-10 degrees to 10 degrees from the first direction.

Illustratively, the plurality of conductive traces are distributed over a plurality of layers to form a plurality of conductive trace layers, the first direction and the second direction being parallel to the conductive trace layers.

Exemplarily, m = n, and each of the m rows of first conductive terminals is electrically connected to one of the n rows of second conductive terminals.

Illustratively, along the first direction, the row of first conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the base body is electrically connected with the row of second conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the base body, and the row of first conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the base body is electrically connected with the row of second conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the base body.

Illustratively, the first and second conductive terminals, which are electrically connected to each other by the same conductive trace, are aligned along the first direction.

Illustratively, the plug-in card is a plug-in card, and the first end is a plugging end of the plug-in card.

Illustratively, the n rows of first conductive terminals are gold fingers, and the m rows of second conductive terminals are used for connecting cables.

Illustratively, the second end is stepped, and each step is provided with a row of second conductive terminals.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a paddle card. The card includes a body including a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of patterned metal layers alternately stacked, the plurality of patterned metal layers including an outer patterned metal layer located on a surface of an outermost dielectric layer and an inner patterned metal layer located between adjacent dielectric layers, the inner patterned metal layer being connected to the outer patterned metal layer through a conductive through hole, wherein the outer patterned metal layer forms n rows of first conductive terminals and m rows of second conductive terminals, the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals are located on both ends of the body along a first direction, respectively, and the outer patterned metal layers forming different rows of second conductive terminals are located on different layers.

Illustratively, the inner patterned metal layer includes a plurality of conductive traces, and both ends of the plurality of conductive traces are respectively connected to the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals through the conductive vias.

Exemplarily, m = n, and each of the m rows of first conductive terminals is electrically connected to one of the n rows of second conductive terminals correspondingly.

Illustratively, along the first direction, the row of first conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the main body is electrically connected with the row of second conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the main body, and the row of first conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the main body is electrically connected with the row of second conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the main body.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an electrical connector. The electrical connector includes: any of the above cards; m rows of cables respectively connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals; and a housing assembly surrounding the second end of the base and connection ends of the m rows of cables connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing a paddle card. The method for manufacturing a card includes: forming a metal layer on the dielectric layer; patterning the metal layer to form a patterned metal layer; and stacking the plurality of dielectric laminates formed with the patterned metal layer and combining them together to form a main body, wherein the external patterned metal layer on the surface of the main body forms n rows of first conductive terminals and m rows of second conductive terminals, the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals being respectively located on both ends of the main body.

Illustratively, the outer patterned metal layers forming the different rows of second conductive terminals are located on different layers.

Illustratively, the inner patterned metal layer within the body comprises a plurality of conductive traces, the method further comprising: forming a conductive via on the dielectric laminate to connect both ends of the plurality of conductive traces to the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals, respectively.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a paddle card that may have a smaller dimension in a first direction and a second direction. Therefore, the entire card is more miniaturized. The plug-in card has lower requirements on application occasions and smaller use limitation. Moreover, the card can save raw materials for processing the conductive traces and the substrate, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the card. Meanwhile, the plug-in card can effectively solve the problems of crosstalk, signal attenuation, signal deviation and the like in the signal transmission process, so that the integrity of signal transmission is ensured. Therefore, the card has good performance.

A series of concepts in a simplified form are introduced in the summary, which is described in further detail in the detailed description section. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The advantages and features of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The following drawings of the invention are included to provide a further understanding of the invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, there is shown in the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art electrical connector;

fig. 2 is a perspective view of a card used in the electrical connector of fig. 1;

fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a perspective view of a paddle card according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 shows in perspective conductive traces internal to the paddle card of fig. 4;

fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the paddle card of fig. 4;

fig. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the paddle card shown in fig. 6;

fig. 8 is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with a plug electrical connector and a receptacle electrical connector separated; and

fig. 11 is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembly shown in fig. 10 with the plug electrical connector and the receptacle electrical connector electrically connected.

Wherein the figures include the following reference numerals:

1. a plug electrical connector; 10. inserting a card; 11. a golden finger; 12. a conductive terminal; 13. a conductive trace; 100. inserting a card; 200. a substrate; 210. a first end; 220. a second end; 221. a step; 310. a first conductive terminal; 320. a second conductive terminal; 400. a conductive trace; 410. a first connection end; 420. a second connection end; 430. a middle section; 500. a cable; 600. 600', a housing assembly; 710. a dielectric layer; 720. patterning the metal layer; 730. a conductive via; 800. an electrical connector is adapted.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. One skilled in the art will recognize, however, that the following description is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that the invention can be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, well known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

Referring to fig. 1-2, the inventor found that, since the front end (i.e. the plug end) of the card 10 of the conventional plug electrical connector 1 has two rows of gold fingers 11 and the rear end has one row of conductive terminals 12, the rear end of the card 10 is larger than the front end thereof, and a T-shaped structure is formed. At the rear end, the conductive traces 13 connected to the conductive terminals 12 at the edges may be bent. Also, the closer the conductive terminal 12 is to the edge, the more pronounced the bend, the greater the length of the conductive trace 13 connected thereto. Improving signal integrity means introducing less distortion in the signal transmission through the plug electrical connector 1. Signal distortion is generally related to signal frequency, and signal distortion generally occurs at higher signal frequencies. However, shortening the transmission distance can reduce the probability of signal distortion during transmission, and conversely, increasing the transmission distance of the signal can increase the probability of signal distortion during transmission. Thus, the elongation of the conductive trace 13 to which the conductive terminal 12 at the edge is connected may be a factor affecting signal integrity.

On the other hand, the plug electrical connector 1 may be used to transmit differential signal pairs, with the conductive traces 13 in the paddle-cards 10 being connected in pairs to differential signal cables (e.g., the cables on the right in fig. 1-2), such as differential pair of conductive traces S1 and S2. In the context of product miniaturization, crosstalk can occur between two adjacent pairs of conductive traces 13. In order to avoid an excessive dimension D3 of the rear end of the card 10 along the direction indicated by Y-Y, the spacing at two adjacent pairs of conductive traces 13 is minimal in the region a where the bend is located, thereby potentially causing crosstalk to occur there, which may be another factor affecting signal integrity. To balance between smaller D3 and better anti-crosstalk performance, the dimension D1 of the front end of the current card 10 along the direction shown by Y-Y is typically around 13 mm and D3 is typically around 8.5 mm for a DDCE (Double sensitivity Cool Edge) 0.80mm connector.

Yet another way of distortion is skew (skew), which includes inter-pair skew (inter-pair skew) and intra-pair skew (intra-pair skew). Skew is a change in the timing relationship between two differential signals that should be correlated in time. When the lengths of the conductive traces 13 that transmit the two differential signals are different, a deviation may occur. It takes a long time for the differential signal to pass through the longer conductive traces, and therefore the correlation of the two time-dependent differential signals after transmission through the plug electrical connector 1 is reduced. Making the length of the conductive traces more uniform can reduce the pair-to-pair variation. Intra-pair skew is similar to inter-pair skew in that it relates to differential pairs of conductive traces that transmit differential signals. Ideally, the phase of each pair of signals would be 180 degrees out of phase. This means that the signals are opposite each other and the difference between the pair of signals on each pair of differential conductive trace pairs is maximized. If one of the pair of differential conductive traces is long, the two signals forming the differential signal will change phase and the difference between them will be small. Referring to fig. 2, the lengths of the two conductive traces within each pair of differential conductive traces (e.g., S1 or S2) having bends are significantly different. This may be yet another factor that affects signal integrity.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a card is provided that allows an electrical connector using the card to have high signal integrity when transmitting signals. A card 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3-5. Plug-in card 100 may include a base 200, a first conductive terminal 310, a second conductive terminal 320, and conductive traces 400.

Paddle card 100 may be used on a plug electrical connector with a portion of paddle card 100 protruding out of the housing of the plug electrical connector. When mated with the electrical receptacle connector, the protruding portion of the interposer card 100 can protrude into the electrical receptacle connector, and the conductive terminals on the protruding portion can be electrically connected to the conductive terminals of the electrical receptacle connector. The receptacle electrical connector is typically mounted to another printed circuit board on which a processor or other electronic components may be disposed.

The substrate 200 has opposite first and second ends 210 and 220 along a first direction Y-Y. Illustratively, the first end 210 of the base 200 may be a male end of a plug electrical connector. In this case, first end 210 is an extension of paddle card 100. The plug electric connector can realize that the first end 210 is connected to other circuits in a plugging mode, is simple and convenient to operate and is wide in application. Plug-in card 100 may also be used in a receptacle electrical connector or any other suitable electrical connector, if applicable. In this case, the substrate 200 may take any other suitable form. Illustratively, the second end 220 of the paddle card 100 may be connected to an edge of a further printed circuit board; and may also be connected to one end of the cable 500. The other end of the cable 500 may be used to connect other components located elsewhere within other electronic systems. Illustratively, the first direction Y-Y may be a longitudinal direction of the base 200. When the card 100 is used in a plug electrical connector, the first direction Y-Y may be a plugging direction of the card 100.

A plurality of first conductive terminals 310 may be disposed on a surface of the first end 210. The plurality of first conductive terminals 310 may employ various types of conductive terminals known to those skilled in the art or that may come into existence in the future, such as gold fingers, conductive domes, etc. The plurality of first conductive terminals 310 may be arranged in n rows. n is not less than 2 and is an integer. Each row of the first conductive terminals 310 may be arranged along the second direction X-X. The second direction X-X is different from the first direction Y-Y. The angle between the second direction X-X and the first direction Y-Y may be arbitrary. Illustratively, the second direction X-X may be a lateral direction of the base 200. The spacing between each row of first conductive terminals 310, the number and type of first conductive terminals 310 in each row may be the same or different. The first conductive terminals 310 of different rows may be the same or different. The first end 210 may be substantially identical to the front end of the paddle card 10 of the plug electrical connector 1. For a DDCE (Double Density Cool Edge) 0.80mm connector, the dimension D2 of the first end 210 along the first direction Y-Y may be between 12.5-13.5 mm.

A plurality of second conductive terminals 320 may be disposed on a surface of the second end 220. The plurality of second conductive terminals 320 may be various types of conductive terminals known to those skilled in the art or may come in the future, such as gold fingers, conductive clips, solder pads, and the like. The first conductive terminal 310 and the second conductive terminal 320 may be the same or different. The plurality of second conductive terminals 320 may be arranged in m rows. m is not less than 2 and is an integer. Each row of the second conductive terminals 320 may be arranged along the second direction X-X. The spacing between each row of second conductive terminals 320, the number and type of second conductive terminals 320 in each row may be the same or different. The second conductive terminals 320 of different rows may be the same or different.

Conductive traces 400 may employ various types of conductive traces known to those skilled in the art or that may occur in the future. Conductive traces 400 may be disposed within substrate 200. The conductive trace 400 may have a plurality of strips. The first conductive terminal 310 may be electrically connected to the second conductive terminal 320 through conductive trace 400. The conductive traces 400 may be straight or approximately straight. By approximately straight, it is meant that the first connection end 410 and/or the second connection end 420 of the conductive trace 400 may have some bend, but the longer intermediate section 430 is straight, as shown in fig. 5. As will be described in detail below.

As known to those skilled in the art, the conductive trace 400 is electrically connected between the first conductive terminal 310 and the second conductive terminal 320, and signal transmission between the first conductive terminal 310 and the second conductive terminal 320 can be achieved. The signals may include GND signals, power signals, control command signals, clock signals, data signals, and the like.

Referring to fig. 1-2 in combination, for a conventional DDCE (Double sensitivity Cool Edge) 0.80mm connector, the spacing between the gold fingers 11 of the plug electrical connector 1 is usually about 0.8 mm. The second conductive terminals 12 of the plug electrical connector 1 have only one row. Since the second conductive terminals 12 generally require the attachment of cables, pins, etc., the spacing between the second conductive terminals 12 depends on the size of the cables, pins, etc. That is, the second conductive terminal 12 cannot be ensured to be small enough. This results in the second end of the substrate 200 having a larger dimension along the second direction X-X. Based on this, when the conductive trace 13 needs to be connected to the conductive terminal close to both sides of the second conductive terminal 12, the conductive trace 13 (e.g., S1 and S2) needs to be bent. Illustratively, the length of S1 may be between 23.5-24.5 millimeters and the length of S2 may be between 13-14 millimeters. Also, in order to avoid cross talk between the conductive traces 13, a sufficient distance between the conductive traces 13 needs to be ensured. This results in the second end of the card 10 having a larger dimension D3 along the first direction Y-Y, resulting in the card 10 having a larger dimension along both the first direction Y-Y and the second direction X-X.

In the card 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the second conductive terminals 320 are arranged in m rows, the size of the second end 220 of the base 200 along the second direction X-X can be reduced. Also, by proper arrangement, the conductive traces 400 (e.g., S3 and S4) may be made to extend along a straight line or an approximately straight line and electrically connected between the first conductive terminal 310 and the second conductive terminal 320. Thus, in the first direction Y-Y, there are no gaps between the conductive traces 400, and thus the substrate 200 does not have room for them, and thus the dimension D4 of the second end 220 of the substrate 200 along the first direction Y-Y can also be reduced. Illustratively, for a DDCE (Double Density Cool Edge) 0.80mm connector, the dimension D4 of the second end 220 along the first direction Y-Y may be reduced to between 5.5-7.5 mm. Further, D4 can be reduced to between 6-7 mm. Still further, D4 may be reduced to about 6.5 millimeters. Also, since the conductive traces 400 may be disposed along a straight line or an approximately straight line, the length of the conductive traces 400 is reduced. Illustratively, the length of S3 can be reduced to between 13-14 mm, and the length of S4 can be reduced to between 2.2-3.2 mm. Further, the length of S3 can be reduced to 13.3-13.8 mm, and the length of S4 can be reduced to 2.5-3.0 mm. Further, the length of S3 may be reduced to about 13.5 mm, and the length of S4 may be reduced to about 2.8 mm.

Ideally, it is undesirable for any distortion of the signal to occur during transmission through the electrical connector in which the card 100 is used. Because if the signal is distorted during transmission within the card 100, communication between one circuit to which the card 100 is connected and another circuit is disrupted. The electronic device may not be able to detect the signal correctly or more errors may occur in detecting the signal. Improving the signal integrity of the paddle card 100 means that there is less chance of distortion in the signal being transmitted through the electrical connector. Especially when transmitting high frequency signals, distortion is more likely to occur. The chance of distortion is reduced meaning that the electronic device using the electrical connector can operate at higher frequencies. Illustratively, the electrical connector may meet PCIe Gen5 32Gpbs usage requirements.

As previously mentioned, various forms of distortion may occur in the signal during transmission through the electrical connector that utilizes the paddle card 100. Shortening the length of the conductive traces 400, increasing the distance between the conductive traces 400, may avoid signal distortion.

One way of distortion is crosstalk. When an electrical connector employing the card 100 is used to transmit differential signals, there is a differential pair of conductive traces in conductive traces 400. For example, in FIG. 2S 1 and S2 may be differential pairs of conductive traces; s3 and S4 may be differential pairs of conductive traces in fig. 5. The differential signal will essentially travel in a pair of differential conductive trace pairs. However, there may be some differential signal that may reach adjacent pairs of differential conductive traces. The phenomenon of differential signals coupled from a first differential pair of conductive traces to a second differential pair of conductive traces is referred to as crosstalk. Crosstalk can produce distortion in the signal transmitted in the second differential pair of conductive traces. The amount of crosstalk will depend on the distance the first differential pair of conductive traces is routed near the second differential pair of conductive traces. Referring to fig. 2 and 5 in combination, the overlap length of S1 and S2 (substantially equal to S1) is much greater than the overlap length of S3 and S4 (substantially equal to S4). The overlap length refers to a length that is relatively close to each other, which may cause crosstalk to occur. Therefore, an electrical connector using the card 100 has better anti-crosstalk performance.

Another way of distorting is attenuation. The longer the length of the conductive trace 400, the greater the attenuation will be. Therefore, an electrical connector using the card 100 has better anti-fading performance.

Yet another way of distortion is a bias. As previously mentioned, both inter-differential pair skew and intra-differential pair skew may exist in prior art electrical connectors due to the significant difference in the lengths of S1, S2 and the conductive traces 13 in the vicinity thereof. In the electrical connector using the paddle card 100 shown in fig. 5, S3 or S4 may be made straight with the adjacent conductive traces 400 so that they are approximately the same length, i.e., the lengths of the two conductive traces within each differential pair of conductive traces are substantially equal and the lengths of the conductive traces are substantially equal when compared between adjacent pairs of differential conductive traces. Therefore, substantially no deviation of the signals transmitted through the electrical connector using the card 100 occurs.

In summary, the paddle card 100 may have a smaller size in the first direction Y-Y and the second direction X-X. Therefore, the whole of the electrical connector using the card 100 is more miniaturized. The card 100 has lower requirements for applications and less restrictions on use. Furthermore, the interposer card 100 also saves material used in processing the conductive traces 400 and the substrate 200, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing the interposer card 100. Meanwhile, the card 100 can effectively solve the problems of crosstalk, signal attenuation, signal deviation and the like in the signal transmission process, thereby ensuring the integrity of signal transmission. Therefore, the electrical connector using the card 100 has good performance.

Preferably, at least 85% of each conductive trace 400 may be straight. Still further, at least 90% of each conductive trace 400 may be straight. More preferably, at least 95% of each conductive trace 400 may be straight. As will be described later, the end of the conductive trace 400 may be configured to be bent. With this arrangement, when the conductive traces 400 are used to transmit differential signals, the two conductive traces 400 in each differential pair of conductive traces can be brought as close as possible by a small number of non-straight portions in the conductive traces 400 and at a greater distance from the two adjacent pairs of differential pairs of conductive traces. Therefore, the coupling of the differential signals is better, the crosstalk can be effectively avoided, and the integrity of differential signal transmission is ensured. In this case, the length of the straight portion of conductive trace 400 also relates to the overall length of conductive trace 400. The length of the straight portion of conductive trace 400 may be selected by one skilled in the art based on the application. Alternatively, each conductive trace 400 may be completely straight when the conductive trace 400 is used to transmit other signals. This allows the length of the conductive trace 400 to be reduced as much as possible, thereby improving signal transmission integrity.

Preferably, the straight portions of the plurality of conductive traces 400 may be angled in a range of-10 degrees to 10 degrees from the first direction Y-Y. This arrangement allows the base 200 to be more compact than in other orientations, thereby reducing the size of the base 200. Further, the conductive traces 400 may be parallel to the first direction Y-Y.

Preferably, the first direction Y-Y and the second direction X-X may be perpendicular to each other. This allows the base 200 to be more compact than at other angles. Because the application field of the electric connector is usually narrow, the electric connector can be more conveniently installed. In embodiments where the electrical connector needs to be plugged in and out or replaced frequently (e.g., the electrical connector is a plug electrical connector), the electrical connector using the preferred card 100 is more suitable.

Preferably, the two conductive traces 400 in each pair of differential conductive traces may have equal lengths. Referring to fig. 5, the two conductive traces 400 included in differential pair S3 and the two conductive traces 400 included in differential pair S4 may each have an equal length. In conjunction with the above description, two conductive traces 400 having equal lengths can minimize intra-pair skew, thereby ensuring better integrity of signals transmitted using the electrical connector of the card 100. Of course, S3 and S4 may also have equal lengths with their respective adjacent differential conductive trace pairs to reduce pair-to-pair skew.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, m = n may be given. Each of the m rows of first conductive terminals 310 is electrically connected to one of the n rows of second conductive terminals. Each row of first conductive terminals 310 may be electrically connected to a corresponding row of second conductive terminals 320. For example, the first row of first conductive terminals 310 may be electrically connected to the first row of second conductive terminals 320 through conductive traces 400; the second row of first conductive terminals 310 may be electrically connected to the second row of second conductive terminals 320 by conductive traces 400. This configuration facilitates the use of lamination to form the card 100. Accordingly, the design cost and the manufacturing cost of the card 100 are reduced.

Further, as shown in fig. 5, along the first direction Y-Y, the row of first conductive terminals 310 closer to the inner side of the base 200 is electrically connected to the row of second conductive terminals 320 closer to the inner side of the base 200. The row of first conductive terminals 310 closer to the outer side of the base 200 is electrically connected to the row of second conductive terminals 320 closer to the outer side of the base 200. In the illustrated embodiment, the first row of first conductive terminals 310 may be electrically connected to the second row of second conductive terminals 320, and the second row of first conductive terminals 310 may be electrically connected to the first row of second conductive terminals 320. Thus, the conductive trace connecting the innermost first conductive terminal 310 and the innermost second conductive terminal 320 has the shortest length. Thus, the length of overlap between the conductive traces connecting different rows of conductive terminals may be minimized. For example, the overlap length of S3 and S4 may be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, the electrical connector using the card 100 has better performance of resisting crosstalk.

Preferably, the plurality of conductive traces 400 can be distributed over multiple layers to form multiple layers of conductive traces (not shown). The number of conductive trace layers may be 2, 3, or more. Alternatively, the number of layers of conductive traces may be the same as the number of rows of first conductive terminals 310 or the number of rows of second conductive terminals 320; the number of layers of conductive trace layers may be different from the number of rows of first conductive terminals 310 or the number of rows of second conductive terminals 320. Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, when the number of rows of the first and second

conductive terminals

310 and 320 is 2, the number of layers of the conductive traces 400 may be 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. The first direction Y-Y and the second direction X-X may be parallel to the conductive trace layer. Preferably, referring to FIG. 5, the plurality of conductive trace layers may be arranged along the vertical direction Z-Z of the substrate 200. The spacing between the plurality of conductive trace layers may be the same or different.

Illustratively, in embodiments where the substrate 200 is a printed circuit board, the printed circuit board may be made by pressing a plurality of sheets together. A polymer matrix (e.g., epoxy) may be used for each sheet. A metal layer is deposited on one side of the sheet and then patterned to form conductive traces 400. A plurality of such sheets are stacked and then pressurized at high temperature to fuse the sheets together, so that the substrate 200 and the conductive traces 400 disposed within the substrate 200 may be formed. By forming a plurality of conductive trace layers, the manufacturing difficulty of the plug-in card 100 is facilitated to be reduced, and the manufacturing process of the plug-in card 100 is optimized. Also, a layer (not shown) may be provided between the conductive trace layers that is grounded. This can reduce cross-talk between conductive traces 400 on adjacent conductive trace layers. Thus, the card 100 has better performance against crosstalk. The number of conductive trace layers can be selected by one skilled in the art according to actual needs.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, the first and second

conductive terminals

310 and 320 electrically connected to each other by the same conductive trace 400 may be aligned along the first direction Y-Y. This allows the conductive trace 400 to be parallel to the first direction Y-Y, thereby minimizing the length of the conductive trace 400 and resulting in greater integrity of signals transmitted by an electrical connector employing the card 100.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, each of the plurality of conductive traces 400 may include a first connection end 410, a second connection end 420, and an intermediate section 430. The first and second link ends 410 and 420 may be the same or different. The first connection end 410 may be electrically connected to the first conductive terminal 310. The second connection end 420 may be electrically connected to the second conductive terminal 320. The middle section 430 may be straight. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the first link end 410 and the second link end 420 are curved. In other embodiments not shown, the first connection end 410 and the second connection end 420 may also be straight. Illustratively, the length of the middle section 430 may account for at least 85% of the overall length of the conductive trace 400. Preferably, the length of the middle section 430 may account for at least 90% of the overall length of the conductive trace 400. More preferably, the length of the middle section 430 can be at least 95% of the overall length of the conductive trace 400. By providing the first and

second connector terminals

410 and 420, the intermediate sections 430 of the two conductive traces in each differential pair of conductive traces can be made as close as possible and at a greater distance from the intermediate sections 430 of the two adjacent pairs of differential conductive traces. This provides better coupling of the differential signals and effectively avoids crosstalk, thereby providing better performance of the card 100.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 3, the n rows of first conductive terminals 310 may be gold fingers. That is, card 100 may be a gold finger card. The types and specifications of the gold fingers may be the same or different, such as gold fingers transmitting power signals, gold fingers transmitting control command signals, and the like. The m rows of second conductive terminals 320 may be used to connect the cable 500. The type and specification of the cable 500 may be the same or different, such as a cable for transmitting a high-speed signal, a cable for transmitting a power signal, and the like. The other end of the cable 500 may be connected to other circuitry. The gold finger plug-in card has wide application range. By providing the cable 500, the paddle card 100 can be remotely connected to a circuit connected to the other end of the cable 500. Also, referring collectively to fig. 8-9, because cable 500 generally has some flexibility, paddle cards 100 can be formed as coplanar paddle cards, vertical paddle cards, or any other suitable paddle card by changing the direction of extension of cable 500. Therefore, the card 100 has a wider application range and higher practicability. In other embodiments, the m rows of second conductive terminals 320 may also be connected to pins or any other suitable housing assembly.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, the second end 220 of the base 200 may be stepped. A row of second conductive terminals 320 may be disposed on each step 221. Thus, the second conductive terminals 320 of different rows are located on different planes. When the second conductive terminal 320 is connected to the cable 500 or other housing components, the second conductive terminal 320 on different planes may have a larger space for the soldering process. Thus, the manufacturing process of the plug-in card 100 is optimized.

In embodiments where the interposer card 100 is fabricated using a layered approach, see fig. 6-7, it may include a plurality of dielectric layers 710 and a plurality of patterned metal layers 720 alternately arranged in a stack. A patterned metal layer 720 is disposed between each two adjacent dielectric layers 710. Adjacent patterned metal layers 720 are separated by dielectric layers 710. These dielectric layers 710 and patterned metal layers 720 together may be referred to as a body. Of course, other components may be included on the body. The plurality of patterned metal layers 720 may include an outer patterned metal layer on the surface of the outermost dielectric layer 710 and an inner patterned metal layer between adjacent dielectric layers 710. The inner patterned metal layer may be connected to the outer patterned metal layer by conductive vias 730. The outer patterned metal layer may form n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and m rows of second conductive terminals 320. The n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and the m rows of second conductive terminals 320 may be located on both ends 210 and 220 of the body along the first direction Y-Y, respectively. The outer patterned metal layers forming the second conductive terminals 320 of different rows are located on different layers.

Illustratively, the inner patterned metal layer may include a plurality of conductive traces 400. Both ends of the plurality of conductive traces 400 may be connected to the n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and the m rows of second conductive terminals 320, respectively, through conductive vias 730. To embody the layered manufacturing scheme of the card 100, as shown in fig. 6, the dielectric layers 710 are separated by dotted lines, and in an actual product, these separation lines may not exist or may not exist as much as obvious, as shown in fig. 7. In addition, in order to embody that the surface of each dielectric layer 710 is formed with a metal layer, the metal layer which may not be shown in the cross-sectional view is shown in a perspective view in fig. 6 to 7, such as the metal layer shown by the dotted line frame in fig. 6 to 7.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing a paddle card. The method comprises the following steps: first, a metal layer is formed on the dielectric layer 710; and patterning the metal layer to form a patterned metal layer. Then, the plurality of dielectric layers 710 formed with the patterned metal layer are stacked and bonded together to form a body. An outer patterned metal layer on the surface of the body forms n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and m rows of second conductive terminals 320. The n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and the m rows of second conductive terminals 320 are located on both ends of the main body, respectively.

Preferably, the outer patterned metal layers forming the different rows of second conductive terminals 320 are located on different layers.

Preferably, the inner patterned metal layer within the body includes a plurality of conductive traces 400. The method further comprises the following steps: conductive vias 730 are formed on the dielectric layer 710 to connect two ends of the plurality of conductive traces 400 to the n rows of first conductive terminals 310 and the m rows of second conductive terminals 320, respectively.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an electrical connector, as shown in fig. 8. The electrical connector may include a paddle card 100, a cable 500, and a housing assembly 600. As shown in connection with fig. 3-5 and 8, the m rows of second conductive terminals 320 can be connected to the m rows of cables 500, and the housing assembly 600 encloses the second end 220 of the base 200 and the connection end of the cables 500 to which the second conductive terminals 320 are connected. Housing assembly 600 may include a housing to protect paddle card 100, a connection lock to facilitate connection to other circuitry (e.g., an electrical mating connector), or other various types of components known to those skilled in the art or that may occur in the future. And by making the housing assembly 600 into different configurations, different types of electrical connectors can be formed. Fig. 8 forms a coplanar electrical connector. When housing assembly 600' is configured in the L-shape shown in fig. 9, a right angle electrical connector can be formed. Either housing assembly 600 or 600' may be constructed in accordance with known techniques and therefore will not be described in further detail herein.

Illustratively, the electrical connector with the paddle card 100 can be electrically connected and disconnected from the mating electrical connector 800 by providing a housing assembly. Referring to fig. 10, paddle card 100 and mating electrical connector 800 are separated and cannot be electrically connected. Referring to fig. 11, the plug-in card 100 and the mating electrical connector 800 can be securely electrically connected by means of a connection lock or the like on the housing assembly 600 that can be engaged with the mating electrical connector 800.

Thus, the present disclosure has been described in terms of several embodiments, but it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, in light of the teachings of the present disclosure, may make numerous alterations, modifications, and improvements which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. The foregoing embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the scope of the described embodiments.

Various changes may be made to the structures illustrated and described herein. For example, the cards described above may be used with any suitable electrical connector, such as backplane connectors, daughter card connectors, stacking connectors, mezzanine connectors, I/O connectors, chip sockets, gen Z connectors, and the like.

Moreover, while many of the inventive aspects are described above with respect to a plug electrical connector, it should be understood that aspects of the present disclosure are not so limited. As such, any one of the inventive features, alone or in combination with one or more other inventive features, can also be used with other types of electrical connectors, such as right angle electrical connectors, coplanar electrical connectors, and the like.

In the description of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the directional terms such as "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "lateral", "vertical", "horizontal", and "top", "bottom", etc., are generally based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are for convenience of description and simplicity of description only, and in the case of not making a reverse description, these directional terms do not indicate and imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore, should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention; the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the interior and exterior relative to the contours of the components themselves.

For ease of description, spatially relative terms such as "over 8230 \ 8230;,"' over 8230;, \8230; upper surface "," above ", etc. may be used herein to describe the spatial relationship of one or more components or features to other components or features as illustrated in the figures. It is understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass not only the orientation of the component as depicted in the figures, but also different orientations in use or operation. For example, if an element in the drawings is turned over in its entirety, the articles "over" or "on" other elements or features will include the articles "under" or "beneath" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary terms "at 8230; \8230; 'above" may include both orientations "at 8230; \8230;' above 8230; 'at 8230;' below 8230;" above ". Further, these components or features may also be positioned at various other angles (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or other angles), all of which are intended to be encompassed herein.

It is noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, and it should be understood that when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" are used in this specification, they specify the presence of features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of this application and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein.

Claims

1. A paddle card, comprising:

a base having opposing first and second ends along a first direction;

n rows of first conductive terminals arranged along a second direction, wherein the n rows of first conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the first end, n is not less than 2 and is an integer, and the second direction is different from the first direction;

m rows of second conductive terminals arranged along the second direction, wherein the m rows of second conductive terminals are arranged on the surface of the second end, and m is not less than 2 and is an integer; and

a plurality of conductive traces disposed within the substrate, the n rows of first conductive terminals being electrically connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals through the plurality of conductive traces.

2. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

3. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of pairs of conductive traces are differential pairs of conductive traces for transmitting differential signals, the two conductive traces in each pair of differential pairs of conductive traces having equal lengths.

4. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of conductive traces includes a first connection end, a second connection end, and an intermediate section connected between the first connection end and the second connection end, the first connection end being electrically connected to a first conductive terminal, the second connection end being electrically connected to a second conductive terminal, the intermediate section being straight.

5. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein at least 85% of each of the plurality of conductive traces is straight.

6. The paddle card of claim 5, wherein the straight portions of the plurality of conductive traces are angled in a range of-10 degrees to 10 degrees from the first direction.

7. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductive traces are distributed across a plurality of layers to form a plurality of layers of conductive traces, the first direction and the second direction being parallel to the layers of conductive traces.

8. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein m = n, and each of the m rows of first conductive terminals is electrically connected to a respective one of the n rows of second conductive terminals.

9. The paddle card of claim 8, wherein along the first direction, the row of first conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the base is electrically connected to the row of second conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the base, and the row of first conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the base is electrically connected to the row of second conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the base.

10. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the first and second conductive terminals electrically connected to each other by a same conductive trace are aligned along the first direction.

11. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the paddle card is a plug card and the first end is a mating end of the plug card.

12. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the n rows of first conductor terminals are gold fingers and the m rows of second conductor terminals are for connecting to a cable.

13. The paddle card of claim 1, wherein the second end is stepped, each step having an array of second conductive terminals disposed thereon.

14. A card comprising a body including a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of patterned metal layers alternately arranged in a stack, the plurality of patterned metal layers including an outer patterned metal layer on a surface of an outermost dielectric layer and an inner patterned metal layer between adjacent dielectric layers, the inner patterned metal layer being connected to the outer patterned metal layer by a conductive via, wherein,

the external patterned metal layer forms n rows of first conductive terminals and m rows of second conductive terminals, the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals are respectively located on two ends of the main body along the first direction, and

the outer patterned metal layers forming the second conductive terminals of different rows are located on different layers.

15. The paddle card of claim 14, wherein the inner patterned metal layer includes a plurality of conductive traces connected at both ends to the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals through the conductive vias, respectively.

16. The paddle card of claim 15, wherein one or more of the plurality of pairs of conductive traces are differential pairs of conductive traces for transmitting differential signals, the two conductive traces in each pair of differential pairs of conductive traces having equal lengths.

17. The paddle card of claim 15, wherein at least 85% of each of the plurality of conductive traces is straight.

18. The paddle card of claim 15, wherein the first and second conductive terminals electrically connected to each other by a same conductive trace are aligned along the first direction.

19. The paddle card of claim 14, wherein m = n, and each of the m rows of first conductive terminals is electrically connected to a respective one of the n rows of second conductive terminals.

20. The paddle card of claim 19, wherein, along the first direction, a row of first conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the body is electrically connected with a row of second conductive terminals closer to the inner side of the body, and a row of first conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the body is electrically connected with a row of second conductive terminals closer to the outer side of the body.

21. An electrical connector, comprising:

the interposer card of any one of claims 1-20;

m rows of cables respectively connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals; and

a housing assembly enclosing the second end of the base and the connection ends of the m rows of cables connected to the m rows of second conductive terminals.

22. A method of manufacturing a paddle card, comprising:

forming a metal layer on the dielectric layer;

patterning the metal layer to form a patterned metal layer; and is

Stacking a plurality of dielectric layers on which the patterned metal layer is formed and bonding them together to form a body,

the external patterning metal layer positioned on the surface of the main body forms n rows of first conductive terminals and m rows of second conductive terminals, and the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals are respectively positioned at two ends of the main body.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the outer patterned metal layers forming the different rows of second conductive terminals are on different layers.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the inner patterned metal layer within the body comprises a plurality of conductive traces,

the method further comprises the following steps: forming a conductive via on the dielectric layer to connect two ends of the plurality of conductive traces to the n rows of first conductive terminals and the m rows of second conductive terminals, respectively.