Medical Design Briefs - November 2023 - 19

ultrasound, etc.) define these diverse
requirements on the devices themselves
and their connectors.
Vibration stability, impact resistance,
and long-term contact reliability in the
face of micromovements of the board-toboard
connectors used in the devices are
of considerable importance. A robust,
self-adjusting system during device assembly
is also a crucial economic factor. During
assembly, neither damage to the contacts
nor mismatching should be possible.
Solutions for Simplifying Device
Design
Tolerance
stack-ups
are
a
particular
challenge for all developers during
the mechanical designs of their devices.
Board-to-board connectors can also
affect the transmission quality of the
signals and the reliability of the power
transmission.
However, the seamless transmission
of data, signals, and power is essential.
At the same time, most applications will
have other requirements - for example,
robustness, variability, and the smallest
possible size. In addition, there is also
the option of EMC shielding of the connection
and the use of non-magnetic
materials.
A board-to-board connector series can
create robust, flexible, and extremely reliable
PCB connections. With a compact
pitch of 0.8 mm and a choice of either a
mezzanine or angled arrangement, this
connector style can enable data transmission
rates of up to 52 Gbps with a specified
500 mating cycles, which can indicate
the surface quality. The connector
design ensures contact protection and
prevents mismatching (see Figure 1).
The extended temperature range of
-55° to +125 °C can ensure the connector
system's performance
capability.
Comprehensive test reports covering
harmful gas and shock tests, among others,
are available.
The hermaphroditic double contacts
set this connector type apart from more
traditional connectors. With conventional
contact technologies, such as double
contacts and single beam (see Figures 2a
and 2b), the knife and spring contact
sides are gender-separated. This double
contact system has a knife and a spring
contact on both sides, combining the advantages
of conventional contact geometries.
However, the connectors themselves
consist of a male and female side.
Medical Design Briefs, November 2023
Fig. 1 - Contact protection and protection against mismatching with an innovative pin connector pattern geometry.
Fig. 2 - Classic (a) double- and (b) single-beam contact.
Thus, the new style does not suffer from
the well-known technical compromises
of conventional hermaphroditic connectors
(see Figure 3).
The hermaphroditic double contact
system ensures reliable contact in a wide
range of situations. Mating position and
angle variances are compensated for
with tolerances of up to ±0.7 mm or 5°
in all directions. When plugged in, there
is a tolerance compensation of at least
±0.3 mm in the longitudinal and transversal
(x-y) direction - a quasi-floating
contact.
This means the system can enable
multiple plug connections between the
circuit boards. In the plug-in direction,
the tolerance window is even larger: In
addition to the qualified mating area,
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the so-called wiping length of 1.5 mm
means that the connector also has an
additional contact overlap of around
0.8 mm. This characteristic makes it
possible to realize PCB clearances flexibly
and seamlessly in the range of 6-21
mm in a mezzanine arrangement. The
angled versions also offer various installation
options, such as horizontal and
vertical connections.
Numbers of positions from 12- to
80-position are available in a spacesaving
double-row arrangement in the
portfolio. Due to the proven possibility
of multiple use of several connectors on
a PCB, it is possible to realize higher
numbers of contacts between two PCBs
- and it's all safe, electrically reliable,
pluggable, and detachable.
19

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Medical Design Briefs - November 2023

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