Connectors enable designers to eliminate midplane connectivity

Developed for high-performing, high-bandwidth systems, the STRADA Whisper family employs a revolutionary design that transfers data at speeds of 25Gbps and offers scalability up to 56Gbps (PAM4 and NRZ)—allowing engineers to achieve efficient future system upgrades without costly backplane or midplane redesigns.

The mechanical design of TE’s STRADA Whisper DPO connectors helps mitigate typical mechanical challenges of DPOs so that the cost and airflow benefits of removing a midplane can be realised. While leveraging the outstanding performance and scalability of the STRADA Whisper family, STRADA Whisper DPO connectors offer easy alignment and installation that maintains electrical performance even when the connector is not fully mated.

The robust transition header connects existing STRADA Whisper Pair in Row (PiR) receptacles to STRADA Whisper Pair in Column (PiC) receptacles without sacrificing industry-leading electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk performance. The resulting rectangular design also provides better density than competitive square-shaped direct orthogonal products, allowing for higher card density and increased system bandwidth.

“The data centre industry is trending toward DPO designs because they eliminate midplane connectivity to reduce system cost and clutter,” said Doug Lawrence, Product Manager, TE Data and Devices. “STRADA Whisper DPO connectors round out our STRADA Whisper high-speed backplane connector solutions to give designers a more complete range of flexible design options that support the latest architectures.”