How to Meet High-Speed Interface Requirements Using Hyper Cool Edge Connectors

Designers tasked with addressing projected data processing requirements for datacenter and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure quickly realize that current connectivity solutions are limited in lane count, bandwidth, and power delivery. The various solutions are also fragmented across functions, with devices having different form factors and connector configurations. Furthermore, they are difficult to service, have limited cooling, and are not easily upgradeable.

The solution to these issues is the Pluggable Multi-purpose Module (PMM). Described in the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) SFF TA Technical Working Group standard SFF-TA-1034, the PMM is a standardized module designed to support high-speed, high-power hardware for networking, telecommunications, storage, AI, and accelerators: all classic datacenter applications.

The PMM is designed to support multiple high-speed data link types, including PCIe and Ethernet, and next-generation SerDes lane rates of 112 giga transfers per second (GT/s) using PAM4 signaling. It also supports solid-state drives (SSDs), network interface cards (NICs), and Compute Express Link (CXL) for high-speed connections to memory, accelerators, and AI, respectively. PMMs unify the support for all these standards by defining pin functions, placement, and electrical characteristics within the module.

The PMM is installed in an enclosure or cabinet that may accommodate multiple PMMs, mated via connectors specially designed to handle high-speed signals and power. SFF-TA-1037 specifications define these connectors. For designers, the challenge is finding a known good source of connectors compliant with this specification.

A known good supplier of SFF-TA-1037 connectors

Designers can source SFF-TA-1037 PMM connectors from Amphenol’s Hyper Cool Edge family, supporting high-speed data signaling, sideband messaging, and power connectivity.

These fine-pitch connectors are hot-pluggable and support a wide range of board-to-board and board-to-cable module applications. The connectors are protocol-agnostic, providing flexibility across multiple protocol implementations. They can operate at 32 GT/s (NRZ) and 64 GT/s (PAM4), and can be upgraded to support 112 GT/s (PAM4).

The connectors’ data pins are rated for 29 volts and 1.1 amperes (A) per pin, with a maximum of 12 pins. The connector body is black thermoplastic with a UL 94 V-O flammability rating. They all have gold-plated contacts and an operating temperature range of -40 to 105°C.

The HE2G15610V10011 is a 158-position dual-row Hyper Cool Edge receptacle supporting 156 signal lines and two power contacts (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The HE2G15610V10011 is a 158-pin Hyper Cool Edge receptacle that supports 156 signal lines and two power connections. (Image source: Amphenol)

The connector supports X16 PCIe 5/6 and sideband messaging. It includes a pair of 200 watt power contacts, suitable for powering CXL-enabled devices, graphics processing units (GPUs), and accelerators.

The pin assignments for this connector are defined by signal functions (Figure 2), providing flexibility to support compatibility with a wide range of current and future serial standards.

Figure 2 : Shown are the pin assignments for the HE2G15610V10011 158-pin connectors. (Image source: Amphenol)

The pin assignments marked “signal” are required in these positions for proper operation as high-speed differential signal lines configured in a ground, signal, signal, ground (GSSG) arrangement. The pins marked “ground” are required for high-speed signal integrity. The pins marked “optional” are available for sideband signals or for additional power.

This surface-mount connector uses copper-alloy contacts with a gold plating thickness of 0.76 micrometers (µm) (30.0 microinches (µin)). The contact pitch is 0.6 millimeters (mm) (0.024 in), and it includes an integral board guide.

Amphenol’s HE2G10810V10011 (Figure 3) is a 108-position dual-row receptacle connector that supports an additional 16 transmit and receive differential signal lanes in the same GSSG wiring.

Figure 3: The HE2G10810V10011 is a 108-pin receptacle that can handle 16 additional transmit and receive signal pairs. (Image source: Amphenol)

This connector is a surface-mount device with the same mechanical contact geometry and plating as the HE2G15610V10011, including a contact pitch of 0.6 mm. In addition to handling PMMs, it supports board-to-board and board-to-cable module applications, including SSD, NIC, and CXL.

The third connector in this Amphenol series is the HE0000210V00011 two-contact power receptacle (Figure 4). This receptacle is through-hole mounted and can conduct 34 A per contact, delivering 400 watts. Support for the current rating is enabled by eight, 0.65 mm-wide contact terminals with a 2 mm pitch.

Figure 4: The HE0000210V00011 is a two-contact connector intended for power support and can deliver 400 watts. (Image source: Amphenol)

Conclusion

The Amphenol Hyper Cool Edge connectors support current PMMs and future high-speed data requirements, with sufficient power delivery and signal integrity performance for high-speed interfaces.