First-Ever Staggered Circuit Layout Delivers Unprecedented Space Savings —— Over the years, the consumer electronics, mobile device and wearables technology market has changed at an incredibly fast pace. The incorporation of embedded technologies in these devices have made them smarter, faster and more powerful. At the electronic component level, this pace of transformation has created its own set of challenges in the architecture, electronic design, physical size and the overall performance of the components in question. The inevitable shift towards reduced package size, higher signal density, electrical performance while meeting assembly processing requirements – all combine to make design challenges both real and relentless. The development of Molex’s Quad-row Board-to-Board connector family was the result of taking into consideration these design considerations and challenges and delivering a connectivity solution that addresses a spectrum of customer pain points. These range from physical space limitations to design flexibility and more.<br>
“Miniature” is the solution when space is a premium
Electronic device makers pack an array of functions within the smallest possible device footprint. In the age of software-savvy users, demand for new functionalities and features often come fast and furious. Engineers responsible for function designs look to miniaturization and performance as key criteria to fulfil new design creations. These are important where aesthetics, acceptability and association with a product or brand can fetch a premium. For example, makers of smart ‘time pieces’ want to embed function-rich features in their ‘next-generation’ smart watches but lack room on the watch’s PCB to accommodate other new electronics. Passive devices like connectors which occupy too much PCB real estate must make way for ‘higher value’ connectivity innovations. There is also the need to ensure that the signal pins of the connector can be increased to meet signaling and product feature needs.
Hence the advent of Quad-row – the world’s smallest board-to-board connector from Molex, which offers 30% more space savings over conventional designs. This innovative connector presents significant opportunities for achieving leading-edge compactness and miniaturization while maintaining compatibility with standard SMT processes.
Left: Quad-row Board-to-Board Connector (Series 203389 Receptacle and 203390 Plug)
Right: Quad-row Connector in comparison with the Slimstack SSB6RP Connectors (Series 505066 Receptacle and 505070 Plug)
How the Innovation Came About
The challenge came about with the need to meet the requirements of a smart watch maker who needed more functionality on a next-generation model watch but had no PCB space to accommodate new enabling electronics.
Molex engineers worked with the smartwatch manufacturer, their Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) provider, and their Contract Manufacturers (CM) to rapidly integrate design ideas and ensure the feasibility of proposed changes as work progressed.
They also recognized the need to use a standard 0.35mm pitch for ease of manufacturability during SMT mounting as anything smaller than a 0.30mm pitch would be difficult to achieve for assembly and processing to be done efficiently and accurately. To maintain manufacturability and assembly confidence with Contract Manufacturers, Molex engineers determined the familiar layout for the mounting pads needed to remain intact, so the team focused on the internal signal contacts layout – something they could control.
In collaboration with experts from a global leader in design, development and manufacturing of FPCs, the engineering teams validated the first-ever, staggered circuit layout, which positions pins across four rows at a signal contact pitch of 0.175mm. The result was an unprecedented space savings of 30% over conventional designs that enabled high-density circuit connectivity with the freeing up of extensive real estate for new sensors and other hardware needed to deliver added functionality.
The consistent teamwork and Molex’s engrained dedication to forming strong relationships with its customers and supplier ecosystem opened up key opportunities for more capabilities to be built that can improve reliability when manufacturing at scale. These opportunities include markets and applications such as:
Consumer:
- Smartphones and tablet PCs
- Wearable devices
- Portable audio and navigation equipment
- IoT and smart home devices
- AR/VR devices
- Drones
Medical
- Patient monitoring systems
- Therapeutic and surgical equipment
Defense
- Unmanned vehicles
- Aircraft avionics
What is Size without Strength?
Molex's Quad-row board-to-board connectors deliver the strength needed for mating and contact reliability. The connector’s interior armor and insert-molded power nails protect the pins from damage during volume manufacturing and assembly. These capabilities, along with a wide alignment, facilitate easy and secure mating with reduced fallout rates.
Molex's Quad-row board-to-board connectors can support voltages up to 50V and a maximum current of 0.3A for signal and 3.0A for power nail. Other electrical features include 35 milliohms contact resistance for signal and 20 milliohms for nail contact. This miniature connector, with a mated width of 2.00mm and a mated height of only 6.0mm, features a 250V dielectric withstanding voltage and 100 megohms insulation resistance.
Molex Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors are available worldwide in 32- and 36-pin configurations with 20- and 64-pin configurations coming soon. Plans are underway to support up to 100-pin counts. With a durability of 30 cycles, Quad-row connectors operate at temperatures from -40 to +85℃, and come in embossed tape and reel packaging for automated assembly. The connectors are RoHS compliant and available with low halogen status.
High-Volume Production, Diverse Mix of Applications
More than 50 million Quad-Row Connectors have been shipped since 2020 to support the highest-selling smartwatch worldwide. Ideally suited for a variety of applications requiring increasingly smaller PCBs and flex assemblies, Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors meet product miniaturization demands, creating nearly limitless opportunities across a wide array of industries. As manufacturers continue to expand the functionality of small products like smartphones, smart glasses, earbuds, and AR/VR devices, their increasingly densely packed PCBs must remain height-scalable and maintain a very small footprint. New connector designs like the Quad-Row can help them innovate without the concerns of signal integrity and PCB space limitation issues.
It is critical to have suppliers you can turn to not just for parts, but for solutions. Molex’s legacy of delivering critical connections extends across the entire mobile device ecosystem with proven expertise in 5G, mmWave, RF, signal integrity, antenna, power, camera, display technologies and more.
If your needs are precision, volume manufacturing and miniaturization to meet dynamic market demands with the smallest, densest and most advanced connectors currently available, speak to a Molex sales representative today.