Technologies such as FFC (Flexible Flat Cable), FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or micro-coaxial cables are reaching their limits with increasing data transfer rates between PCBs. With Y-FLEX High-Speed FPC from Yamaichi Electronics, data rates of 56 Gb/s (PAM4) can be realized over a cable length of 100 mm. This is achieved by using LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) as the base material, contacting different layers with silver bumps and a 100 percent reproducible production process.
For high transmission speeds, specific coordination with the FFC/FPC connector used is important. In principle, the mating face of Y-FLEX can be adapted to any standard ZIF/non-ZIF/LIF connector. To achieve optimum performance, Yamaichi's high-speed ZIF/non-ZIF connectors developed for this purpose, such as the HF507 series, are best suited.
The biggest difference between Y-FLEX and standard FPC lies in the insulation material. In contrast to standard polyimides, the insulation material LCP of the Y-FLEX series has a significantly lower dielectric constant and power factor at high frequencies. This means that the attenuation is considerably lower and the data transmission rate is significantly higher. In addition, LCP has better hygroscopic properties, which facilitates processing and allows conductor track widths of less than 30 µm to be realized with maximum precision.
With Y-FLEX, transmission standards such as PCIe Gen 4 (16 GT/s), USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s) or eDP HBR 3 (8.1 Gb/s) can be achieved compared to micro-coaxial cables. During measurements, data rates of 56 Gb/s (PAM4) were realized over a cable length of 100 mm. Thanks to the manufacturing process (precision etching and LCP material as insulator), Y-FLEX is 100 percent reproducible. All conductor paths are identical and achieve constant transmission properties over the entire length. In coaxial cables, the ratio of inner to outer conductor varies along the cable due to the strand structure. When assembling the individual coaxial conductors to the connector, there may be differences in the length and therefore the propagation time of the individual cables. In addition to 5G testers and body scanners, Y-FLEX is used in autonomous vehicles, data networking, image processing and medical technology.
Yamaichi is a market leader for test & burn-in sockets, connectors and connection systems with high reliability and functional safety for applications in the semiconductor, industrial automation, automotive, measurement and testing technology, medical, mobile computing and embedded computing sectors.
