Through photos and videos, EE World covers some of the active and passive components that RF and wireless engineers need to connect us all.

The exhibit hall at the 2023 International Microwave Symposium featured connectors from Molex, Samtec, and SV Microwave, among others.

See EE World’s IMS 2023 coverage of test equipment on Test & Measurement Tips; semiconductors and components on 5G Technology World.

Molex made several announcements just prior to IMS. The company enhanced its 224 Gb/sec ecosystem, which includes the Mirror Mezz Enhanced genderless mezzanine board-to-board connectors 224 Gb/sec PAM4 speeds. See full coverage at Connector family handles 224 Gb/sec digital signals
In the video at right, EE World’s Sr. Technical Editor Martin Rowe met with Samtec’s Pete Robinson who demonstrated the company’s Bulls-Eye connector line with up to 90 GHz of bandwidth. The connectors are flush-mounted, attaching to a board with screws. Thus, there’s no soldering needed. Robinson also demonstrated RF connectors with alignment pins to maximize RF performance. By adding fiducials to your board, you can properly align the connector.
SV Microwave exhibited an array of edge launch, solderless edge launch, stripline, and CPW microstrip connectors. Sizes include 1.58 mm, 2.4 mm, 2.92 mm, and SMA.