PAINESVILLE, OH and LOMBARD, IL–Meritec (www.meritec.com) and Cinch (www.cinch.com) have jointly developed the NX+ PCB SMT receptacle connector, designed to provide 20 Gbits/sec per lane performance (80 Gbits/sec for entire 4x connector), which meets the footprint and associated performance requirements of the newly released SFF-8473 specification and its originating SFF-8470 specification. It is built for InfiniBand and Ethernet CX-4 copper cabling applications.
The companies say electrical system performance is enhanced by having less than 2% total crosstalk throughout the entire connector/ cabling interconnect. The receptacle is backward compatible with the widely used SFF-8470 cable assemblies and its mechanical mating interfaces.
The NX+ Connector System was recently selected for the developing Ethernet IEEE-802.3ba CR-4 baseline draft for 40 Gbits/sec (4 lanes x 10 Gbits/sec = 40 Gbits) 10-meter copper links. The NX+ receptacle is also backward compatible with the existing Ethernet IEEE-802.3ak CX-4 specification, and is built to exceed performance requirements of the IEEE- 802.3ap KR specification.
This 8- and 24-differential pair connector system is also used for various link aggregation or backbone cable assemblies, and multi-legged fan-out cable assemblies using Category 6A and Category 7A STP cable types with RJ-45 or ARJ-45 connectors that exceed Ethernet IEEE-802.3an specifications.
The NX+ enhanced PCB receptacle connector is used with SFF-8470 cables that have been tested during InfiniBand trade association’s PlugFests, and exceed the DDR 5G and QDR 10G per lane specifications. This connector has been proposed in support of the developing QDR (10 Gbits) and EDR (20 Gbits) per lane specification. It is used in conjunction with Meritec and Cinch cable assemblies that are listed on the InfiniBand Trade Association’s (www.infinibandta.org) Integrator Product List.
The companies say the dual-sourced product is a continuation of the recent technology license covering the Meritec NX InfiniBand Architecture Standard High Speed Cable Assembly product line. Under the agreement, Cinch has gained access to Meritec’s knowledge base and construction methodology in the area of high-speed connector and cable design, manufacturing, and testing.
Each company will independently manufacture and market this connector under the name, NX+. CS
