What Are Mezzanine Connectors?
In modern electronic devices, Mezzanine Connectors are an essential connection component, widely used in high-density, high-performance electronic products. With advancements in technology, particularly in fields such as AI, 5G, and IoT, the demand for connectors continues to rise. Mezzanine connectors, with their compact design and high-speed transmission capabilities, have become the preferred solution in numerous industry applications. This article will focus on the most common concerns people have when searching on Google, providing a detailed introduction to Mezzanine connectors, including their overview, definition, working principle, types, characteristics, advantages, and applications.
Catalog
I. What Are Mezzanine Connectors?
III. Types of Mezzanine Connectors
IV. Characteristics and Advantages
I. What Are Mezzanine Connectors?
A Mezzanine Connector is a type of board-to-board interconnect connector, typically used for direct connection between two parallel or slightly offset PCBs. Unlike common I/O interfaces, it focuses on high-speed, reliable electrical and mechanical connections inside chassis, offering different stacking heights and contact arrangements based on design requirements.
II. Working Principle
· Terminal Pair Design: Mezzanine connectors typically consist of a pair of male and female connectors. The electrical contact is made between two PCBs via elastic contacts.
· Stacking Mechanism: Positioning pillars (or pins) and polarization keys ensure accurate alignment during mating, reduce insertion and extraction forces, and enhance mechanical reliability.
· Impedance Matching: Differential pair signal transmission is employed in the design, along with built-in transmission line termination techniques (e.g., Solder Charge termination), ensuring signal integrity and minimizing reflections and crosstalk.
III. Types of Mezzanine Connectors
Mezzanine connectors come in various types, each suited for different application scenarios. Some of the common types include:
· Parallel Mezzanine: Two PCBs are stacked in parallel, ideal for connections between backplanes and daughterboards; typical pitch ranges from 1.27 mm to 2.00 mm, supporting data rates up to 56 Gbps.
· Mirror Mezzanine: Symmetrical designs with male and female connectors allow stacking of more layers for higher density; supports PAM-4 speeds up to 112 Gbps.
· High-Speed HD Mezzanine: Optimized with patented Solder Charge technology for terminations, supporting speeds from 12.5 Gbps to 56 Gbps, commonly used in telecommunications and networking equipment.
· ExaMEZZ® Backplane: Industrial-grade connectors covering bandwidths from 25 Gb/s to 56 Gb/s, designed for high-reliability applications.
· Standardized Card Interfaces (PMC/XMC/HSMC): Compliant with industry standards such as IEEE 1386 and VITA 42, these connectors offer strong compatibility for mezzanine card interconnections.
IV. Characteristics and Advantages
· High Data Rates: Supports differential pair transmission from 3 Gbps to 112 Gbps (PAM-4), and even higher speeds, meeting the demands of AI accelerators, 5G RF modules, and other high-performance applications.
· Low Stacking Heights: Offers stacking heights from 4 mm to 16 mm, saving significant system space, making it ideal for slim devices and high-density chassis.
· High-Density Contacts: Contact pitches can be as small as 0.35 mm, supporting interconnection of dozens to hundreds of differential and power signals.
· Excellent Signal Integrity: The differential pair design, combined with terminations and polarization structures, significantly reduces EMI/EMC interference, ensuring high-quality signal transmission.
· Reliability and Durability: Multiple contact points and positioning pin structures provide excellent shock resistance and mechanical durability, with options for dust caps and sealed versions to adapt to harsh environments.
V. Applications
· Servers and Data Centers: Used for high-speed signal interconnection between backplanes and various function boards.
· AI and High-Performance Computing: Integrated into GPU modules and accelerator cards, meeting the demand for large-scale parallel data transmission.
· Telecommunications and Networking Equipment: Used in switches, routers, and 5G base stations for interconnections between motherboards and RF modules.
· Medical and Industrial Automation: Provide high-density, compact connections in imaging devices and control systems with space constraints.
· Embedded and FPGA Boards: For example, the HSMC (High-Speed Mezzanine Connector) interface is commonly found in FPGA development boards.
VI. Conclusion
Mezzanine connectors, as a key high-density connection solution in electronic devices, have become an indispensable component in modern electronics due to their exceptional performance and flexible design. From servers and communication equipment to high-performance computing and embedded systems, the application range of mezzanine connectors is continuously expanding. With ongoing technological advancements, mezzanine connectors will play an increasingly crucial role in the future of the electronic component market, meeting the demand for even higher speeds and more compact electronic products.
