FCI press-fit connectors target thick PCBs

FCI has developed press-fit, vertical PCI Express card edge connectors to extend the use of high-speed, serial PCI Express architecture to the thicker system boards found in server applications.

The press-fit connectors are targeted for use on 2.36mm to 4.19mm thick PCBs. As board thicknesses increase, through-hole aspect ratios increase the difficulty of achieving reliable solder joints using solder-to-board connectors. By using press-fit PCI Express card edge connectors, manufacturers can avoid soldering problems and improve manufacturing yields when implementing I/O slots on thick motherboards. The connector family is offered with the industry-standard x4 and x8 links typically used in servers and in a 280-position size intended for riser cards that provide support for PCI Express, PCI or PCI-X add-in cards in rack-mount servers.

Press-fit connectors are also available in standard x1 or x16 link widths. Each serial PCI Express lane is comprised of differential transmit and receive signal pairs that support 2.5Gbps data rate in each direction. All connectors fully support PCI Express signal and power requirements, as well as the auxiliary signals at the interface between the system board and add-in card.

- Henri Arnold
Electronics Express Europe
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