Performance parameters of a ball contact system between flexprint board and PW-board for 10 Gbps data transfer

According to the goal of the XFP MSA group (10 gigabit small form factor pluggable, XFP, multi source agreement, MSA) of creating a specification for a hot pluggable module converting serial electrical signals to external serial optical or electrical signals, the development of a 10 gigabit connector system with a ball contact principle between a flex print line and a standard printed wiring board has been carried out. The mechanical dimensions and the electrical parameters is determined. Based on this special ball contacting system the following report discusses the mechanical parameters of the contact pressure in the constriction area as well as the active contact area dimensions and the resulting contact resistance. The reflection factor is calculated for the utilization and application of high speed data transfer up to 10 Gbps. The ball contact principle guarantees extremely low mechanical dimensions and is excellently suitable for signal transfers of extremely high data rates; only lowest electrical imperfections is generated. The calculations of mechanical and electrical characteristics use the elastic-plastic material properties of galvanic metal plating and treat with the base materials like copper (Cu) and Gold (Au), as well as the glass fibre-reinforced epoxy material for printed wiring boards. The layer deformation is verified by laboratory testing and measurements.