FCI Unveils Its Newest HD SAS Internal Cable Assemblies, Featuring 3M Twin Axial Cable SL8800 Series, at DesignCon 2012

Published on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 08:18 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-( Business Wire )-

FCI and 3M today announced the availability of the SFF 8643 Mini Multilane Internal Cable Assemblies for SAS HD connections from FCI, which feature the high-performance Twin Axial Cable SL8800 Series from 3M. SFF 8643 assemblies from FCI support the SAS 2.1 standard at 6 Gbps data rate, and are expected to be fully compliant with the upcoming SAS 3.0 specification, which will increase the data rate up to 12 Gbps. These cable assemblies are ideal for system applications requiring high density routing in tight spaces, or where restricted air flow is a concern.

“The twin axial cable from 3M allows FCI to offer miniSAS HD internal cable assemblies that deliver excellent electrical performance to the defined SAS 2.1 and proposed SAS 3.0 industry standards. The cable's mechanical advantages also allow FCI the ability to offer cables that can be bent at a 90 degree angle during routing without any signal degradation,” noted Jim David, global product manager, FCI. “We are excited to work with 3M in using this cable as part of FCI’s complete miniSAS HD product portfolio.”

FCI’s internal miniSAS HD cables will be offered in both the 4x (4 channel) and 8x (8 channel) versions, and all of the cables include standard sideband signaling. In addition to the internal cables, FCI also offers mating internal miniSAS HD board connectors (also SFF-8643 complaint) as well as a complete line of miniSAS HD external board connector systems and external cable assemblies both of which are fully SFF-8644 compliant.

“FCI is a global leader in interconnect solutions and 3M is excited to work with them to bring this advanced cable assembly to market,” said David N. Schneider, global business manager, 3M Electronic Solutions Division, Interconnect Business. “The combined capabilities of both FCI and 3M make this offering an ideal solution for a variety of industry solutions, and in particular, solutions where utilizing a limited space with optimal airflow is vital for performance.”

The Twin Axial Cable SL8800 Series from 3M is well suited for paddle card terminated cable assemblies. Now available in various two, four, and five differential pair 100 ohm 30 AWG versions, the SL8800 Series Cable is the optimum solution for space-constrained systems. This internal cable is extremely thin, very flexible and can even be folded with minimal loss or performance impact. The low profile nature of the cable also presents minimal obstruction to airflow, providing potential power savings to designers, and increased value to the end customer. SL8800 Series Cable is extremely high bandwidth, demonstrating virtually no resonance or discontinuities out to 42 GHz. Depending on length, attenuation requirements and termination, applications to 25 Gbps and beyond can be implemented with SL8800 Series Cable. Current popular applications supported by SL8800 Series Cable are MiniSAS SFF-8087 and SFF-8088, MiniSAS HD SFF 8643, PCI Express implemented on SFF 8087, and SATA assemblies. 3M will continue to offer more variations of SL8800 Series Cable, including external versions and performance enhancements.

Samples of the cable assemblies will be available in the 3M (#706) and FCI (#414) booths at DesignCon 2012, which takes place in the Santa Clara Convention Center, Jan. 31 – Feb 1, 2012. To learn more about FCI and its high-speed connector and cable assembly offerings, visit http://www.fci.com. To learn more about Twin Axial Cable Solutions from 3M and its line of interconnect offerings, visit http://www.3Mtwinax.com.

About FCI

With operations in 30 countries and sales of 1.28 billion euros in 2010, FCI is a leading manufacturer of connectors. Our 14,000 employees are committed to providing customers with high-quality, innovative products for a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. For more information: www.fci.com.

About 3M Electronic Solution Division – Interconnect

3M Electronic Solutions Division’s Interconnect business offers a variety of innovative connectors, cables and cable assemblies, embedded capacitance materials and Textool brand test and burn-in sockets for component engineers and designers in the electronics industry. The Twin Axial Cable SL8800 Series from 3M is a recipient of R&D Magazine’s 49^th Annual R&D 100 Awards. The award recognizes 100 of the most technologically significant products and has long been a benchmark of excellence in a variety of industries – from academia to government to medical to manufacturing. For more information about 3M’s Interconnect solutions, visit: http://www.3Mconnectors.com. Information about 3M Company is available online.

3M is a trademark of 3M Company.

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3MJenni Balthrop, 512-984-2146jsbalthrop@mmm.comorFCIPatricia Staino, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.