Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1248324
MAY 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 67 conditions by GateWave Northern Inc. In the lower frequency range (less than 10 Ghz) the Samtec Z-Ray connector showed the most promising results of all the interconnect methods. However at frequencies higher than 10 Ghz the benefit of this connector suffered, resulting in lower return loss values when compared to the other interconnect methods. In Figure 15, the return loss of both of our test connectors is shown. This again shows that at lower frequen- cies, the Samtec Z-Ray connector shows bet- ter results than the Plastronics HPin connector. However, the Plastronics HPin connector did show better results at higher frequencies. This is an indication that highlights the fact that the proper interconnect must be chosen based up- on end-user application. Figure 16 shows the return loss comparison between the sintered via connection and the PTH via. Surprisingly, the sintered via connec- tion shows similar return loss results to the PTH via. In fact, through most test frequen- cies, the sintered interconnect actually shows sured on traces. In our testing, since everything is equal (outer layer trace length and width, via length, dielectric material, and spacing, etc.), differences in our impedance measure- ments will be the direct result of our intercon- nect type. Finally, rise time degradation is the increase in the rise time of a pulse as it travels through a circuit and the slowing down of the wave. This occurs due to the resistive, inductive, and capacitive effects of circuits [3] . Since flatness is a critical criterion for our customers, we also measured and compared the flatness of each of our test vehicles using our RAM/QVI CMM. Results To analyze return loss, S-parameter results were reviewed for all test samples. Since S11 and S22 results were compared and were simi- lar, we chose to focus on S11 parameters in our testing. Figure 14 shows the S11 overlay of all test samples, which were tested under standard Figure 14: All test samples, return loss.