Contents

Basic principles

A connector is an electromechanical system that provides a separable connection between two subsystems of an electronic device without an unacceptable effect on the performance of the device. It will be shown that there are a lot of complex parameters to handle properly to make this statement true.

Design / Selection / Assembly

This chapter provides an overview of design and material requirements for contact finishes, contact springs and connector housings as well as the major degradation mechanisms for these connector components. To complete this chapter, material selection criteria for each will also be reviewed. Additionally the Level of Interconnection (LOI) was integrated into this chapter as it addresses, where the connector is used within an electronic system and therefore influences the requirements and durability of the connector depending on its use.

Applications

This chapter is heading to the practical work and shows how customers use connectors in their applications to offer some possibilities and to ease your daily work. Additionally it contains some special topics like tin-whisker or impedance of ZIF cable to offer you extended background knowledge.