Molex zQSFP+ interconnect system provides high-performance products meeting high-density apps

DesignCon 2011, LISLE, USA: Molex Inc. has introduced the z-Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable Plus (zQSFP+) interconnect solution, designed for high-density applications found in telecommunications, data networking, test and measurement and medical diagnostic equipment.

The zQSFP+ system, which provides proven 25 Gbps data rates, will be demonstrated in Molex booth 501 at DesignCon 2011, February 1 and 2, Santa Clara, CA. The products support next-generation 100 Gbps Ethernet and 100 Gbps InfiniBand* Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) applications and are designed to accommodate stacked and ganged connector configurations in extremely high-density requirements.

“The new zQSFP+ connector system allows users to deliver high-performance connectivity while maximizing real estate usage compared to traditional SFP+ products,” said Joe Dambach, new product development manager, Molex. “It’s also a highly-integrated system that provides excellent thermal performance, signal integrity (SI), electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection and some of the lowest power consumption in the industry for optical cable assemblies.”

Components of the system include:

Surface Mount (SMT) Through Hole Connector: Molex’s zQSFP+ SMT EDR application consists of 4 lanes of high data-rate differential signals with proven data rates of 25 Gbps and capable data rates of 40 Gbps. The patent-pending preferential coupling design uses insert molding to support a narrow edge-coupled blanked and formed contact geometry to optimize electrical performance. The zQSFP+ connector shares the same mating interface as the QSFP+ form factor, making it backward compatible with current connectors, cages and cable assemblies.

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding Cage: Molex’s zQSFP+ EMI cages are designed with an advanced heat-sink system to provide a high level of heat dissipation for next-generation system-power levels. The spring-finger design provides optimal EMI grounding and allows for more space to route high-speed traces.

Passive Copper Cable Assemblies: The next-generation copper cable assembly construction provides improved insertion loss (IL) performance at 12.5 and 14.0 GHz, and has been tested up to 30 GHz. The 4 lane and SI performance design on the paddle card and the cable termination process assures low reflection, low cross talk and controlled impedance.

Active Optical Cables (AOC): Molex’s low-power AOC integrated cable solution provides less expensive, reliable transport for aggregated data rates up to 100 Gbps. The single mode fiber technology provides long reaches of up to 4km, enabling deployment in data centers and campus environments.