Connectors are present in many electronic applications and can operate to join electrical circuits or signals together. Due to the electrical properties, alternating electrical current (AC) or other time-varying current distributes itself within a conductor so that current density near the surface of the conductor is greater than at its core. This electromagnetic phenomenon is often referred to as the skin effect. The skin effect allows a single conductive body to be used in connectors with multiple radio frequency (RF) channels because return ground currents will flow along an inside surface of an internal cavity into a respective ground pin. The conductive body connector attaches to the end of the cavity with interfaces such as an electronic circuit board, cable, or another connector. However, as the density for RF connectors increases, the problem of crosstalk becomes increasingly problematic.
Crosstalk is a phenomenon that produces an undesirable effect from one circuit or channel of an electrical transmission system to another circuit or channel. Crosstalk can be caused by capacitive, inductive or conductive coupling. In telecommunications and telephony, crosstalk can be signals induced on a connection that include components of speech or signal tones from another connection. In analog circuitry, crosstalk can distort nearby signals at the source or destination of the transmission. In wireless communications, crosstalk can be co-channel or adjacent-channel interference. In integrated circuit design, crosstalk can be an electrical signal affecting another nearby electrical signal in many environments such as, for example, a circuit board, an integrated circuit, a handheld computational device, a transmission cable, or a connector.
Return current induced crosstalk in a multi-channel conductive body connector is generated when the return ground current of one channel flows to the signal pin and/or ground pin of another channel. This return current induced crosstalk is exacerbated by a conductive path available at the bottom edge of the conductive body connector, which can be exacerbated further as connector density increases or as a result of imperfect ground pin contacts. Although methods exist to remedy this problem, such as reducing impedance (including but not limited to effective resistance) to the ground pin(s), creating independent conductive bodies, or placing an insulator on the conductive connector body, such methods can be ineffective and/or cost prohibitive.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.