The TCJ Series low-profile tantalum solid electrolytic chip capacitor with a conductive polymer electrode meets the lead-free 3 x 260°C reflow requirements. Said to offer lower ESR, safer non-ignition failure mode and better capacitance retention compared to other polymer devices and conventional MnO2 electrode capacitors, all in a low-profile size (1.2 mm height) for use in portable and handheld devices (cellular phones, PDAs and digital cameras).    
 
Suitable for power management systems with operating temperatures up to 125°C. Offer a capacitance range of 10mF to 100mF.
 
AVX Corp., www.avx.com

 

Elkton, MD -- W. L. Gore & Associates, a supplier of cable assemblies, and FCI offer the next generation of high data rate digital interconnect solutions. The data link leverages the advantages of FCI's AirMax VS high-speed connection system with Gore's cable assembly development.  The new configuration uses the AirMax connector concept to provide high-frequency performance without the use of shielding. Target markets include telecommunications, large scale computing,and automatic test equipment.

"We are pleased to bring together FCI's expertise in high speed connector design with Gore's high data rate cable technology to offer a data link that can provide an aggregate bandwidth of 1.0 Terabit per second using only 50 linear millimeters of backplane space," said David Gioconda, global data communications market segment leader for Gore. "This technology is ideal for large scale servers, telecom switches and other data intensive hardware."     

 The cable assembly uses cable with  expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) as the dielectric core. The helically wrapped core ensures constant impedance throughout the length of the cables with stability with temperature cycling or flexing. Their smaller diameter and minimum bend radius reportedly allows more signal lines per area and delivers higher bandwidth performance than comparable cable configurations.
 
Offer low signal loss, low crosstalk, low skew, controlled capacitance and controlled impedance. 
 
The connectors are offered in multiple configurations: 5, 4 and 3 pair per column versions and in a variety of column counts including 10, 8 and 6. 
 
W. L. Gore & Associates, www.gore.com

 

Service Pack 2 for P-CAD 2004 (a PCB design system for layout professionals) includes over 130 new features and enhancements to give greater power and control over the PCB design process. Available as a free download to existing P-CAD 2004 customers.
 
Productivity enhancements include Variants, which can now be defined in both schematic and PCB with full ECO support in both directions. Variants can be created and edited by renaming, modifying the description, adding or removing components, and modifying the attributes of components to be placed with the Variant.
 
Can run multiple instances of all P-CAD applications- PCB, Schematic, and Library Manager/Executive. Provides backwards compatibility support that facilitates staggered upgrades and more trouble-free interaction between internal and external organizations. Efficiency has been improved with layer ordering for printing, andimprovements to copper pours. Comes with increased routing power due to improvements to glossing and hugging performance and the Specctra/Situs Exporter.
 
Enhancements were made to Bonus Technologies, including Altium Designer's Situs Topological Autorouter, which now recognizes and utilizes class-to-class rules and handles layer names with spaces in them. Clearance rules are interpreted correctly, with pad and via rules broken out into separate rules when necessary. Free Pads are no longer converted to vias. There is support for pad styles with zero height and width on top and bottom layers, layer rules from P-CAD and pre-routed fanouts in components. Split plane nets are now also handled and assigned correctly.
 
Available for free download at: http://www.altium.com/pcad/resources/downloads/spDownloads. 
 
Altium Ltd,  www.altium.com

 
 
 

Ashburn, VA - Sanmina SCI recently replaced IPA in their existing underside cleaning process with Zestron SW.  The switch was prompted by the New Product Introduction Center to reduce the number of solder balls per board to comply with the IPC-610 standard. Various process optimizations with IPA failed which led to the search for a new cleaning agent. Process advantages achieved with the switch include the prevention of solder balls on the boards, a reduction in the consumption of the cleaner, a shorter process time and a higher flash point which led to increased operational safety.
 
Zestron, zestron.com