Samtec, a privately held $662MM global manufacturer of a broad line of electronic interconnect solutions, proudly announces the Consortium for On Board Optics (COBO) has adopted a two-piece surface mount connector system based on Samtec’s FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™ for the next generation of standardized on-board optical modules.

As part of the new miniature footprint, the Power/Control connector from Samtec reduces the size of on-board optical modules while increasing port density in data center and HPC applications.

Additionally, the Samtec connector was selected as the proposal for the Power/Control connector for all low speed signals on x8 and x16 lane full-duplex options of the COBO modules. The built-in positive latching capabilities of the new connector enhance ruggedness in on-board optical modules.

"It's an honor for Samtec to be selected as a part of COBO's next generation of standard on-board optical solutions," said Jignesh Shah, Sr. Product Architect at Samtec, Inc. "The FireFly Micro Flyover System™ exemplify Samtec as a technology leader in high-speed interconnect and on-board optical module design."

Samtec will present additional details around their COBO contributions during OFC 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Shah will participate in the panel "On-board Optics — Challenges, Discoveries and the Path Forward" Wednesday, March 22 from 10:15 — 11:45 PST in Expo Theater II. The panel will review the technical challenges facing on-board optical modules and discuss developing trends in data center networking.

For more information on the FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™, please download our FireFly™ Application Design Guide or visit www.samtec.com/firefly. For more information on COBO, please visit www.onboardoptics.org.