Molex expands NearStack high-speed cable assembly portfolio

Molex has expanded its NearStack high-speed cable assembly portfolio to include the NearStack 100-ohm and NearStack 85-ohm solutions. The product line expansion focuses on improving signal integrity and reducing insertion loss, while optimizing for cost, for telecommunication and data center applications.

The NearStack connector and cable assembly products address the need for high-speed lower-cost alternatives to traditional board designs. These solutions optimize signal integrity channel performance with direct linkage, bypassing board traces and use of lower loss materials, said Molex.

In addition, these solutions can potentially lower costs by removing re-timers and other active components from high-speed channels and reducing the number of high-speed layers that would need to be routed through expensive PCB materials, said the company.

For applications requiring 100-ohm impedance, the NearStack 100-ohm connector and cable assembly system supports 56 Gbits/s PAM-4 and is compatible with the Molex BiPass I/O. The solution uses 34 AWG twinax cable to create a high-speed jumper product in eight-differential and 16-differential pair sizes.

The NearStack 85-ohm solution offers another high-speed solution to support applications that require this impedance, such as PCIe-based systems. It uses 30 AWG twinax to enable longer reach, and is compatible with Molex backplane cable assemblies.

Molex is focused on developing interconnect solutions that meet and exceed 112 Gbits/s speed requirements and planning for next-generation demands.