December 2003 edition of the Amphenol RF Connection v 2.3
In this issue:
Adam
Norwitt assumes leadership role at Amphenol RF
Amphenol
RF Moves Its Headquarters
Amphenol
RF Features its SMP Connector Series
Web
update: Amphenol RF Showcases its RF Market Solutions
Dave’s
Q & A: "How do you modify your design and improve the VSWR
performance?"
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Adam
Norwitt assumes leadership role at Amphenol RF
Effective
November 17th, Adam Norwitt assumed the leadership position
of Director, Global RF Products and General Manager, Amphenol
RF. In his new role, Adam is responsible for RF operations,
including Amphenol RF, Amphenol RF Asia, Amphenol Fuyang and
the newest member of the Amphenol family - Amphenol Antel.
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Adam originally joined Amphenol as
a Business Development Associate, Asia in 1998. He subsequently
finalized his MBA studies and rejoined Amphenol in January
2000 as Business Development Manager, Asia. In February
2001, his role was expanded to include General Manager
of Amphenol's low frequency connector manufacturing
operation in China, ASCA. Most recently, as Director,
Interconnect Systems Operations, Asia, Adam was responsible
for Amphenol's cable assembly and value-add products
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adam is relocating to the Danbury, CT area from Hong
Kong, with his wife and two children.
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Amphenol RF relocated its headquarters to
a new facility in Danbury, CT on December 15th, 2003. As the
market leader providing the highest quality RF interconnect
products worldwide, the company’s new location is strategically
designed to continue offering exceptional customer focus while
showcasing its core manufacturing competencies.
Founded in 1919, Amphenol RF began its 84-year
history in Danbury, Connecticut and continues the tradition
with its latest location which complements Amphenol RF’s
other global facilities. The new Amphenol RF location features
a modern design with an easy to navigate layout that gives
an open look and feel with a view into the manufacturing work
area from the entrance of the building.
“The layout begins with the entire
front-end of the business including marketing, engineering,
customer service, and material planning, regionalized in teams
to offer quick responses both externally and internally,”
said Dick Nimons, Director of Operations. “The purchasing,
business development, and finance areas are strategically
located adjacent to the front-end creating a complete support
structure. The entire configuration enhances customer focus
for all of Amphenol RF.”
The new layout was also designed to promote
Amphenol RF’s manufacturing expertise and demonstrate
the company’s commitment to manufacturing competency
in the US. In addition, the structure serves as a model for
the achievement of smaller lot manufacturing.
“The manufacturing footprint was planned
around Amphenol RF’s strategic initiative to achieve
smaller lot sizes with the focus on CNC turning machines,”
said Wes Owen, Director of Manufacturing.
The new headquarters is located at 4 Old Newtown Road, Danbury,
Connecticut, just off of Exit 8 of Interstate 84. For directions
to our new location, visit us at: Amphenolrf.com.
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Amphenol
RF features its SMP Connector Series
 The
SMP interface provides an ideal interconnect solution for
high frequency PCB board-to-board applications and cable-to-board
applications.
The SMP interface is a subminiature interface in the same
scale as MMCX connectors but offers a frequency range of DC
to 40 GHz. It is commonly used in miniaturized high frequency
coaxial modules and is offered in both a push-on and snap-on
mating styles. The receptacles are available in surface mount,
end launch and vertical configurations.
In addition to RF applications, the product is used to carry
shielded high data signals typically up to 20 gigabits such
as those common in optical transmission systems.
The interface is an excellent choice for
PC board-to-board interconnects. For these applications, the
interface series utilizes a male connector on each of the
PC boards and a female-to-female adapter mounted in between
to complete the connection. The female adapter is often called
a bullet and is necessary to provide a flexible link between
the male connectors. This flexible link allows .020 inches
of radial float and .010 inches of axial float. Utilized in
this manner the SMP product can provide multiple RF connections
between stacking boards. The floating bullets used can be
supplied in a variety of heights.
In the board-to-board application one male
connector will be specified as a snap-on interface and the
other as a push-on. This ensures that the bullet adapter remains
fixed in the same male connector if the PC boards are separated.
In its snap-on configuration, the SMP interface
is available in two levels of detent each with different mating
and de-mating forces. The two levels are full detent and limited
detent. In board mount applications, the lower level of detent
(limited detent) is typically selected, as it is only required
to retain the bullet. Full detent is often used for discreet
cable connections where higher forces are desirable.
When specifying requirements for a board-to-board
application the user should provide the required PC board
connector configurations, the board-to-board spacing, and
the tolerances associated. With this information, Amphenol
can suggest a package of connectors to suit the application.
The SMP is of particular importance due
to its significant role within the mission-critical systems
of military aerospace applications. Learn more within the
Microwave
Journal Cable and Connector Supplement coming
in March 2004.
To
obtain more information about the SMP series click
here.
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Web
update: Amphenol RF Showcases its RF Market Solutions
Amphenol RF is the world leader in the design, manufacture
and supply of RF interconnect systems for key markets including
automotive, broadband, Wireless LAN and wireless infrastructure.
With targeted market pages, Amphenol RF makes finding your
RF connectivity solution easier than ever. To learn more,
visit us at Amphenolrf.com.
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Q: "How do you modify your design and improve
the VSWR
performance?"
A: In the October
2003 edition of the Amphenol RF Connection, I showed how
Ansoft HFSS is used to simulate the RF performance of a connector.
In that example, the performance did not meet the desired specification
levels above 3 GHz. With HFSS, we can easily make changes to
the geometry and quickly see whether or not we are achieving
the desired results.
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HFSS Model
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This connector was a previously existing older design
being updated to a higher frequency requirement. It was
hoped that the improvements could be made without modifying
the body (most expensive components). Looking at the design,
we saw 4 areas that could easily be modified. ANSOFT
HFSS would tell us if the changes we wanted to make would
actually help us, and how much. One at a time, we made
the changes to the geometry and simulated the performance.
#1: Increase contact shoulder diameter to reduce impedance
and make it 50 ohms.
#2: Increase contact shoulder diameter to reduce impedance
and make it 50 ohms.
#3: Increase contact diameter to reduce impedance and
make it 50 ohms.
#4: remove contact undercut and chamfer thereby improving
impedance match. |
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Final HFSS Model
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The final design is shown above and the improvement to
the VSWR with each adjustment is shown below. Each modification
takes a matter of minutes to draw and simulate. We can
easily and quickly see if our ideas are working. The entire
process took less time to actually simulate than it did
for me to write this article.
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This particular design had mismatches that were fairly
obvious and easy to adjust. Sometimes,the mismatches
are more difficult to determine. We need additional
capabilities and utilize the Time Domain features of
Ansoft HFSS. The next installment of ASK Dave will have
an example that shows how we can quickly and accurately
modify a design using the Time Domain feature of HFSS. |
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