DesignCon, the premier high-speed communications and system design conference and exposition, celebrated their 30th anniversary with special events such as a 30th anniversary lounge, scavenger hunt, First Timers gathering, Women in Engineering reception and Lunar New Year celebration. The keynotes included “Electronics for Future High Energy Particle Colliders” given by Carl Haber, Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California; “The Transformative Power of Accelerated Computing & AI” given by John Linford, Principal Technical Product Manager at Nvidia; and “Enabling Global Connectivity with Low Earth Orbit Satellite Technology” given by Nima Mahanfar, Director of Engineering at Amazon's Project Kuiper Systems. Here is a link to our photo gallery: photo gallery. 

IMG_7073.jpgDesignCon's "Engineer of the Year" Award is given out each year during the DesignCon event. The award seeks to recognize the best of the best in engineering and new product advancements at the chip, board, or system level. This year’s winner is Ben Dannan, Founder and Chief Technologist at Signal Edge Solutions and member of the Signal Integrity Editorial Advisory Board.

The exhibition had about 170 companies and attendance was strong. Here are some of the companies we visited and what they were featuring in their booths:

Astera Labs was featuring:

  • First public demonstration of end-to-end PCIe 6.x interop between our Scorpio P-Series Fabric Switch and Micron’s PCIe 6.x SSD
  • Top-down insights on low level PCIe 6.x connectivity issues and advanced AI system predictive analytics through our Aries 6 Smart DSP Retimers, Scorpio Fabric Switches, and COSMOS software suite
  • High-speed 800G Ethernet connectivity and real-time diagnostics for optimizing uptime and ROI in high-density AI racks through Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules and COSMOS software suite

IMG_7052.jpgCadence was featuring:

  • Scalable 3D electromagnetic (EM) modeling solutions for interposer/package/PCB
  • End-to-end design flows for advanced multi-chiplet 3D package design
  • LPDDR5X at 9.6Gbps on 3nm for AI, automotive, and mobile
  • 224G Long-Reach SerDes for UALink, enabling xPU-to-xPU scale-up and scale-out connectivity

Chroma was featuring their ultra-low voltage DC load for CPU and GPU Vcore power supply testing. It is designed for VRM, VRD, POL converter and embedded D2D converters. It features low-voltage characteristics with a min operating voltage of .2 V to 0 V, current range to 2000 A, output low inductance copper bar design, CC dynamic frequency up to 25 kHz, user defined waveform and low inductance cable (option).

Circuit Mind is a new company that has a product called the Assistant Circuit Engineer (ACE) that is an intelligent platform that enables electronic teams to automatically generate reliable electronic system circuits in seconds, optimally and without errors. It is an AI driven platform that features automated component selection and schematic design, multiple design options with cost, size and power optimization, design error checking, export to ECAD software and more. We will have to check it out and see how it works.

Cofactr is a newer company that can source, procure, and kit with their supply chain execution platform that is made for complex hardware manufacturers. They can streamline critical and agile hardware supply chains, enhancing speed and accuracy in procurement. We help electronics and other complex manufacturers get what they need when they need it by connecting engineering, procurement, and logistics.

HyperLabs introduced the first in a new line of test equipment, a pulse generator with 16 V differential DC coupled outputs, risetime/falltime <30 ps (were measuring about 24 ps in the demo), analog BW of >10 GHz, low RMW jitter <400 fs, fully programmable for ATE applications with a virtual front panel and LabVIEW compatible. They were also featuring their new series of very broadband isolation baluns covering 150 kHz to 67 GHz with 17 dB of isolation. I am looking forward to what is added next to the test equipment line.

Junkosha was showcasing their latest ultra-phase stable advancements in high frequency cabling designed to cater to the demands of a 5G/6G digital future. For instance, the MWX004 has been developed to push beyond the limitations of the 145 GHz barrier, making it the first 145 GHz flexible coaxial cable. Featuring advanced phase stability, the industry’s top-performing dielectric material and a high flex life enabled by our precision-engineered EPTFE tape wrapping technology, this interconnect is the premier choice to for high-speed transmission. Junkosha unveiled its MWX161 cabling solution – now available with skew matching within 1 psec. Reaching up to the 67 GHz range, it will be demonstrated for visitors to observe on a multiport Vector Network Analyzer on the Rohde & Schwartz stand.

IMG_7045.jpgKeysight Technologies announced the launch of Chiplet PHY Designer 2025, its latest solution for high-speed digital chiplet design tailored to AI and data center applications. The enhanced software introduces simulation capabilities for the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) 2.0 standard and adds support for the Open Computer Project Bunch of Wires (BoW) standard. As an advanced, system-level chiplet design and die-to-die (D2D) design solution, Chiplet PHY Designer enables pre-silicon level validation, streamlining the path to tapeout. As AI and data center chips grow more complex, ensuring reliable communication between chiplets becomes crucial for performance. The industry is addressing this challenge through open, emerging standards like UCIe and BoW that define the interconnects between chiplets within an advanced 2.5D/3D or laminate/advanced package. By adopting these standards and verifying chiplets for compliance, designers contribute to the growing ecosystem for chiplet interoperability, reducing costs and risks in semiconductor development.

Insulated Wire released a new short form catalog for 2025. It summarizes their Low loss/phase stable, Re-Flex, Semi-Rigid coax and non-RF products. The inserted product cards included their Re-Flex starter kits with re-formable cable assembly solutions in a box that has various lengths of cables and their Milli-Flex assemblies for applications above 30 GHz that use a proprietary technology for laminating PTFE to achieve performance to 110 GHz.

Menlo Micro was featuring cutting-edge high-speed loopback solutions, the MM5620 and MM5622, designed to support differential signal switching required for numerous high-speed SerDes interfaces, PCIe Gen 5, Gen 6 and other standards. They had a demo where they showcased how the MM5620's 64 Gbps data rate to meets the stringent PCIe Gen 6 requirements, including eye-diagram performance of two MM5620 differential switches configured in a differential DP3T configuration with loopback.  

049.jpgMolex showcased its new compact MMCX Power over Coax solution, which features a patent-pending mating technique to ensure secure and stable connections while maintaining electrical ground continuity. This innovative product is ideally suited for space-constrained applications where reliable connections and continuous power delivery are paramount, such as automotive LCD mirrors, driver monitoring systems or industrial sensors. The innovative mating technique resolves the problem with intermittent power delivery and signal interruptions inherent in traditional MMCX connectors. Molex engineers and experts shared updates in a series of informative demonstrations at their booth, including:

  • Highlights of Molex’s 224G portfolio, which encompasses next-generation cables, backplanes, board-to-board connectors and near-ASIC cable-to-connector solutions operating at speeds up to 224 Gbps-PAM4.
  • Subject matter experts will share Molex’s preparations for 448G connectivity, as well as the critical components and technologies needed to achieve this important milestone.
  • Thermal management demonstration featuring Molex’s liquid cooling solution, called the Integrated Floating Pedestal, which minimizes thermal resistance while maximizing heat-transfer efficiency.
  • RF solution showcase reinforces Molex’s ability to meet demanding high-speed data connectivity applications with high-frequency RF solutions that improve signal integrity, as well as reduce loss and interference.
  • The automotive and transportation innovation team will demonstrate Type-C Enabling DisplayPort application for vehicles, as well as Ethernet over Coax as an alternative to Shielded Twisted Pair.

046.jpgRohde & Schwarz invited attendees to gain hands-on experience as they test their engineering skills in the ‘Are you a genius’ challenge. Through this live interactive demo, Rohde & Schwarz engineers offered their technical expertise in signal integrity and power integrity as well as EMI debug to a wide engineering audience. Additionally, Rohde & Schwarz delivered a comprehensive workshop in collaboration with leading authorities from industry and academia, including Samtec, University of Colorado Boulder, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Signal Edge Solutions, and Picotest. The range of topics included analyzing large signal phenomena and crosstalk in the time and frequency domains, ultrafast impedance measurements of active high current PDNs, via signal integrity challenges in high-speed data channels, as well as others. R&S was also featuring a demo of a Multiphase Buck Converter with the R&S MXO5 Oscilloscope and IEEE 802.3 Standard Compliance Testing with a 67 GHz VNA and 48-port extension. They also hosting a Design Challenge on EMC and Signal Integrity, and Power Integrity.

Rosenberger was featuring their SMPX multiport connectors, adaptors and cable assemblies. This line covers up to 110 GHz per lane while maintaining a consistent impedance profile with low insertion and return loss. They come in single or double row of 2, 4, 8 or 16 ports with edge launch and vertical mount in coax or Twinax assemblies.

IMG_7051.jpgSamtec showed how they are advancing standards development and pushing the state of the art to deliver the best signal and power integrity performance, whether your system involves fiber optics, RF signals, or digital signals operating at 56 Gbps, 112 Gbps, or 224 Gbps. Samtec was showing their Si-Fly® HD connectors operating at 224 Gbps and other booth demonstrations included Samtec’s NitrowaveTM RF cable and new NovaRay® backplane system operating at 112 Gbps.

Teledyne LeCroy had a nice presence featuring the following:

  • PCIe 7.0 Electrical Transmitter Testing
  • Cross Layer Analysis Tools for USB and PCI Express
  • USB4v2/Thunderbolt5/DP2.1 PHY Compliance
  • DDR5 Validation and Compliance Testing
  • PCIe Fixture Characterization

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Times Microwave was featuring high power, InstaBend and Microcoaxial cables. High power coaxial cables balance electrical performance with mechanical and thermal properties to ensure maximum power transfer efficiency and reliability. When combined with optimized connector designs, high power interconnects provide loss and high thermal performance. InstaBend are flexible, coaxial microwave assemblies designed for interconnects between RF circuit cards, modules and enclosure panels. Micro-coaxial cable assemblies are designed for high density and high frequency applications. These small, lightweight cables are used in a variety of applications from board-to-board and inside-the-box applications to medical devices to test and measurement.