Interconnection


High-speed cable solution

31 July 2024 Interconnection

The upcoming PCIe 7.0 specification is intended to enable 128 GT/s data rates. It continues PCIe’s trend of doubling the speed every generation. According to PCI-SIG, “PCIe 7.0 technology is targeted to be a scalable interconnect solution for data-intensive markets like artificial intelligence/machine learning, data centres, HPC, automotive, IoT, and military/aerospace.”

PCIe 7.0 is targeted for release in 2025, and it probably won’t be in devices until 2027. But, at SC 23 in Denver, Samtec presented a proof-of-concept of a chip-adjacent, mid-board high-speed cable system operating at 128 GT/s – PCIe 7.0 specs – with excellent performance.

Specifically, an Alphawave PipeCORE test PHY is transmitting 128 Gbps PAM4 data. The signals travel to a Samtec BE70A, a Bulls Eye test point system, through low-loss coaxial cable, to Samtec precision 1,85 compression-mount RF connectors on a Samtec NovaRay evaluation kit.

NovaRay is a high-density, high-speed board-to-board, and cable-to-board connector system. The combination of extreme density and performance is critical as system sizes decrease and speeds increase.

A Samtec NovaRay connector mates with one end of a NovaRay cable assembly. The signal travels through 20 inches of 34 AWG Samtec Eye Speed ultra-low skew twinax cable, to another NovaRay cable connector, and then to another NovaRay board level connector. The signal then runs back to the Bulls Eye, and back to the Alphawave chip for analysis.

The analysis determined that the system produced a BER of 10-8.

For more information visit www.samtec.com




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Industrial Ethernet with HARTING solutions
Interconnection
In today’s fast-paced industrial landscape, Ethernet connectivity plays a crucial role in automation, ensuring seamless communication between machines and systems, and HARTING offers a wide range of innovative Ethernet products.

Read more...
Steel wire cable tray systems
RS South Africa Interconnection
Legrand has developed a zinc aluminium finish surface treatment for its Cablofil steel wire cable tray system to minimise the threat of zinc whiskers forming.

Read more...
Versatile high-current contacts
Spectrum Concepts Interconnection
Mill-Max has announced the release of its number 36 contact, a unique contact designed to accept a wide range of lead sizes, while providing low insertion force and high current carrying capacity.

Read more...
High-density coax assemblies
RFiber Solutions Interconnection
WithWave’s high speed and high-density multi-coax cable assemblies provide a wide range of multiple coax connectors and flexible cable assemblies, with a choice of 20, 40, 50, 67 or 110 GHz configurations.

Read more...
IO-Link compatible fibre-optic sensor
Vepac Electronics Interconnection
The DFS71 is a digital fibre-optic sensor with configurable outputs: single output with remote input, redundant, complementary, and classic, which can all be configured as PNP (source), NPN (sink), or push/pull.

Read more...
High-performance connector
Interconnection
The CMM SMPM Series is the result of a collaboration between Nicomatic, a leader in connectors for harsh environments, and Radiall, an expert in RF coaxial connectors.

Read more...
Multi-channel SMPM cable assembly
RFiber Solutions Interconnection
Withwave’s multi-channel SMPM cable assemblies provide a choice of 26,5, 40 or 50 GHz configurations based on precision array design and superior high-frequency cabling solutions.

Read more...
Cable assembly delivers PAM4 in dense designs
Spectrum Concepts Interconnection
Samtec’s NovaRay cable assemblies combine performance and extreme density by using 40% less space than traditional arrays.

Read more...
M12 connectors with push-pull fast locking
Phoenix Contact Interconnection
Phoenix Contact’s push-pull fast-locking system, and the Push-Lock conductor connection, make assembly and installation effortless and reliable.

Read more...
Connectors for automotive zonal architectures
RS South Africa Interconnection
Rosenberger H-MTD connectors form the basis for reliable and efficient data transmission now and for future automotive zonal architectures.

Read more...