Everything under computing undergoes rapid innovation to meet the demand of both speed- and performance-hungry technologies. High–speed Solid State Drives (SSDs) meeting the most modern and advanced memory standards are already in use. With the introduction of smartphones laptops, tablets, and PCs are also shifting to be sleeker designs, the slimming down of bulky form factors appeared to be the sole means to survive the market. In addition, a key driver of this marked change was the development in non-volatile PCI Express storage. The transition started with the introduction of the sleeker mSATA add-on card replacing the bulkier standard PCIe® form factor, followed by the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), also known as the M.2 which gained more popularity. Designed for PCIe® 3.0, USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0 applications, M.2 is one of the smallest and smartest form factors available in the market today. These are designed for ultra-slim, power-efficient smart devices like ultrabooks, mobile platforms, gaming devices, and other portable equipment; especially those making use of SSDs. With various standardized module widths and lengths, M.2 provides enhanced flexibility in specifications, scalability for various technologies, and can be paired with multiple interfaces including NFC, 2G-5G, SSD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and WWAN.

PCIe® M.2 Gen 3 and Gen 4 connectors

PCI Express M.2 connector was designed to deliver the smallest footprint for PCIe® connectors. Amphenol’s PCIe® M.2 Gen 3 and Gen 4 connectors provide 67 contacts on 0.50mm pitch fully compliant to PCI-SIG PCIe® M.2 specification. These connectors were introduced to provide better performance compared to the PCIe® Mini Card form factor as these occupy lesser PCB space and have options for 75 positions, 8 connector key polarizations, and various connector heights. These have both single-sided and dual-sided modules supporting higher data transmission rates, provide enhanced durability with 5,000 mating cycles and are offered in both right-angle and vertical orientations. Compatible with PCIe® 3.0, USB 3.0, and SATA 3.0, these connectors are largely used in tablets, laptops, and low profile enterprise storage and servers.

Advanced PCIe® M.2 Gen 5 connectors

Amphenol’s new M.2 Gen 5 connectors are much more advanced than their predecessors and can meet PCI Express® 5.0 specifications. Supporting higher data rates up to 32Gb/s and occupy lesser board space compared to the PCIe® Mini Card connector, they are capable of supporting multiple add-in cards like SSD and Wi-Fi and use conductive plastics to achieve PCIe Gen5 performance. With 67 contacts on 0.50mm pitch, M.2 Gen 5 connectors are offered in multiple connector heights and like the earlier versions, these connectors also offer design flexibility with 75 positions and 8 connector keying options. Backward compatible with Gen 3 and Gen 4 versions and as these connectors are fully compliant with PCI-SIG PCIe® M.2 Gen 5 specification, they are equally suitable for low-profile enterprise storage and server applications in addition to laptops and tablets.

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