• By Robert Friedt and Chiara Pieri
• November 07, 2022

Spring probes offer high density and have a very high mating cycle life, often higher than traditional pin & socket contact systems, and this is needed to keep very expensive MRI systems operating to their full capacity and patient throughput to a maximum.

• By Steve Durrett
• November 01, 2022

Retail. Manufacturing. Government. Healthcare. Distribution. Choose an industry, and edge computing is there helping organizations thrive. Every industry has more data to generate, control, share, and save, which means that through 2022 and beyond, more enterprises will use the edge to benefit their business.

• October 20, 2022

Modern therapeutic systems for the treatment of weight loss for both health and aesthetic purposes are evolving to help people live a better life. To achieve the necessary results, medical devices need to ensure long-lasting, constant and high-level performance with reliable components able to support harsh conditions.

• By Arlen Martin and Jon Lundberg
• October 10, 2022

Optical interconnectivity has a significant impact on the defense industry. Not only does it allow greater amounts of data to be passed over longer distances, but it also minimizes SWaP (size, weight, and power) relative to copper alternatives. In fact, cabling weight can be reduced more than 90% with no interference and carry high-speed data 15 to 20 times further.

• September 29, 2022

From military aircraft to radar applications to satellite communication links, we rely on cable assemblies to transmit signals between multiple devices, internally in a single device, or as part of testing processes.

• By Steve Durrett
• September 05, 2022

There's no escaping the expectations to create more compact electronic components with higher functionality. Designing shrinking electronics is a challenge for all electronics manufacturers. Whatever industry you're in and no matter if you’re creating consumer, business, or military-grade electronics, there is a demand for building smaller, smarter, and sturdier electronics.

• By Dave Raymond and Tim Meehan
• August 23, 2022

Current space and defense industries are putting pressure on electronic manufacturers to deliver high performance with smaller form factor. For applications in these industries, from radios to drones and satellites, miniaturizing components such as RF chip attenuators with broad frequency ranges is becoming critical for developing technology and meeting the challenging demands of defense and space applications.

• By Susan Su
• August 08, 2022

In the digital era, semiconductor chips are present in almost every aspect of our lives. Whether it is from microwave ovens to computers, cell phones, computer central processing units, and other electronic devices there are a variety of chips installed.

• By Chiara Pieri
• July 20, 2022

To ensure patient and provider safety, medical connectors must satisfy a variety of government and industry standards depending on the usage and specific applications.

• By Chiara Pieri
• June 06, 2022

Train deceleration is a key function that implies passengers’ safety, environment and property protection and nothing can be left to chance or neglected when it is the moment to select the right parts that have to compose the brake system. With this in mind, the design engineers have to pay attention to reduce the overall maintenance costs as well to provide a dependable and market aligned solution.

• By Gregory Kay
• May 18, 2022

Smiths Interconnect’s new HBB five-pole connector packs flexibility, reliability and safety as well as power into one easy-to-use connector for demanding applications. We’ve built an international reputation on our ability to anticipate customers’ future needs and innovate to meet them. In the defense sector, we’ve been exploring the potential of the energy revolution for combat vehicles, both on the ground and in the air.

• April 26, 2022

Our popular KA Series PCB connectors are capable of performing to significantly higher levels than the conservative ratings to date might suggest.

• By Mike Schweyer and Mark Verderber
• February 24, 2022

The recent rollout of the 5G C-band frequencies has caused concerns for radar altimeter interference in avionic systems—including commercial transport, business, regional, and general aviation airplanes and helicopters.

• By Joydip Sanyal and Chiara Pieri
• January 10, 2022

The great impetus given by the COP26 summit has raised the world's awareness of climate change and made it a global priority. It is today well-known that to halt the consequences of climate change we need to limit global warming to 1.5°C (34.7°F) above pre-industrial levels. As a result, all aspects of our lives are under scrutiny.

• By Glenn Tilton
• December 14, 2021

How much power can your cables handle?

• By Daniel Ratzlaff and Chiara Pieri
• November 22, 2021

The continued need to evolve and develop smarter solutions has driven exciting new innovations that are reducing the cost-per-therapy in the medical sector without compromising life-critical performance.

• By Alan McNeill
• November 15, 2021

Understanding the basics of microwave microstrip isolator and circulator technologies

• By Chiara Pieri
• September 30, 2021

Efficient quality end-of-line equipment can innovate the automotive industry.

• By Dave Raymond and Tim Meehan
• June 24, 2021

When should attenuation be added to a RF/microwave application?

• By Gregory Kay
• April 28, 2021

Understand Electromagnetic Interference (EMI/RFI) filtering, Transient Voltage Suppression, and the basics of signal conditioning:

• By Chris Hawn
• March 10, 2021

Understanding RF wideband microwave gain slope, installation and reliability

• By Andrew Breslin
• February 17, 2021

Having the proper guidelines in place for your RF semi-rigid cable assembly helps minimize cost, improve electrical performance, and increase reliability.

• February 02, 2021

The explosion of worldwide communications over the past 25 years has led to the pervasive use of mobile and land communications equipment with an abundance of platforms, applications, and devices all driving the growth of many of the largest businesses in the world. There is no doubt that this trend will continue through the Internet of Things (IoT), and the arrival of the 5G technology along with improvements to the underlying network infrastructure. However, the next, ‘Small Step’ for man in terms of ubiquitous communications will be the ‘Giant Leap’ into the Internet of Space.

• By Rick Marshall
• December 14, 2020

As mobile phone electronics continue to shrink, WLCSP has become the de-facto packaging solution for IC’s going into today’s flagship handsets. Manufacturers need solutions to rapidly debug their new silicon, and quickly ramp it to HVM while achieving aggressive DPPB quality levels.

• November 19, 2020

The requirements of space flight components must be carefully taken in account when designing a spring-loaded connector.

• By Mo Hasanovic
• September 23, 2020

As the applications in modern telecommunications shift towards K-band and Ku-band so does the need for RF components and systems at these frequencies.

• By Chris Hawn
• August 20, 2020

Temperature Variable Attenuators can be used in place of a standard chip attenuator to combine level setting and temperature compensation in a single chip design.

• By Chris Hawn
• July 07, 2020

Understanding RF Filter technology to get the most effective solution.

• By Roberta Rebora
• June 03, 2020

As Space Missions evolve, so do Smiths Interconnect’s light and compact connectivity solutions.

• May 04, 2020

Autoclave sterilization introduces high pressure steam into a chamber containing the objects to be sterilized. Therefore, these devices must be able to withstand autoclaving temperatures in the range of 135°C without damage, deformation, or disintegration.

• April 30, 2020

As more pressure is put on industries to boost the bottom line, management is taking a closer look at all operating costs, including connectivity.

• By Chiara Pieri
• January 22, 2020

The request for faster, safer and more comfortable services has grown proportionally in the rail industry over the recent years and the last two decades have seen exponential growth in the use of technology towards the evolution of very sophisticated transport system where the performance of components is more and more critical.

• By Jocelyn Lauzon, Guillaume Blanchette, Pierre Cardi
• December 01, 2019

Optical communication is a proven technology that has been deployed in harsh defense and avionics applications for a large number of years.

• By Lynnette Reese,
• June 27, 2019

Neural networks have been around since the 1950s. The advent of fast, massively parallel processors like the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) have made neural network applications like object recognition feasible. Neural networks are one means used to create Artificial Intelligence (AI). The latest iPhones now have an AI chip, primarily to offload face recognition tasks.1 Voice translation tasks would also benefit from an AI chip. Google provides voice translation as long as there is access to a cloud. The ability to translate directly from a phone without requiring Internet access to Google engines would be advantageous, and it’s possible that the iPhone is headed in that direction.

• By John Koon
• June 16, 2019

Security is a critical challenge for a wide range of embedded systems applications. System integrators must optimize operational capability, maximize competition for systems development, ensure interoperability, and maintain commonality to reduce life-cycle cost.

• By Jocelyn “Justin” Lauzon,
• June 03, 2019

In space, high performance components must be able to deliver reliably in the punishing environment. It is optical transceivers that drive transmissions, converting signals to and from a copper-resident format. Fiber optics communications provide high bandwidth and low latency signaling. Signal transmissions through fiber optic cables (FOCs) provide immunity to EM/RFI interference, crosstalk, and voltage level surges. Fiber optics’ accuracy and reliability exceeds traditional cabling. Covering 1,000 feet requires four pounds of FOC versus 39 pounds of copper wiring, and fiber optics also consume less energy than copper. To convert electrical signals from circuitries with copper output to fiber optics, optical fiber transceivers are usually required.

• By Gerald Persaud and David Rolston
• November 01, 2018

The above article has outlined the advantages and challenges of using fiber optical interconnects. To use fiber optic cables, the electrical signals need to be converted to light signals using fiber optic transceivers. While there are many challenges to embedded fiber optics design, the benefits are substantial. The guidelines and design check list provided will help developers select the best solutions for their needs.

• By Guillaume Blanchette, David Rolston
• September 23, 2018

Aeronautical applications face many design challenges that are unique to their intended environment. The best practices for optical interconnect design for space applications include the use of radiation-resistant technology to defend against space radiation, the use of components and devices that are designed to operate in harsh environments, and meeting size, weight, and power (SWaP) and long-term reliability requirements. Finally, it is recommended to follow open standards like VPX and to look for solutions that comply with MIL and quality standards.