Molex has introduced its MX60 series of contactless connectivity solutions. Designed to replace physical cables or connectors, the low-power, high-speed, solid-state devices feature miniaturized mmWave RF transceivers and built-in antennas in one package for faster and simpler device-to-device communications.
This results in greater design flexibility, seamless device pairing and increased communications reliability, said Molex. Applications include video displays and consumer electronics as well as industrial robotics and devices operating in harsh environments.
(Source: Molex)
The MX60 series is based on wireless chip-to-chip technology acquired in 2021 through the purchase of core technology and intellectual property from Keyssa Inc., a provider of high-speed contactless connectivity. The technology operates at data rates from 1-to-5.4 Gbits/s on the 60-GHz band with no Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth interference.
The first devices replace traditional DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet and USB SuperSpeed connectors to reduce development time, cost and risk, said Molex. A space-saving, contactless solution that provides USB2 and other low-speed interfaces is currently in development.
“Every piece of real estate counts when designing smartphones, AR/VR glasses, smartwatches and other consumer devices,” said Walter Rivera, senior manager, Wireless Connectivity Product Manager for the Micro Solutions Business Unit at Molex, in a statement. “By combining USB2 and other low-speed interfaces in one contactless solution, we will offer product developers a critical head-start as they won’t have to worry about fitting extra components into ever-shrinking form factors.”
The MX60 series also improves product reliability in harsh environmental conditions, such as dust, moisture and corrosion. The contact-free solutions are sealed and provide lower risk in applications with ingress and repeated motions including high-vibration and rotational products, in comparison to physical metal-to-metal contacts.
These solutions can be used in a range of applications including smartphones, AR/VR glasses, tablets, self-driving vehicles, video walls, industrial robotics, medical wearables and wireless docking stations.
Production samples are available for the MX60 USB SuperSpeed for high-vibration and harsh environments, including mobile devices and networking applications; the MX60 Gigabit Ethernet for wireless infrastructure, industrial automation, medtech and networking applications; and the MX60 DisplayPort Main and Auxiliary, a high-speed replacement for conventional DisplayPort connectors.
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