Fortis Zd next-gen backplane connector debuts for military, commercial aerospace applications

MUNICH, 21 March 2012. TE Connectivity, a global provider of electrical components, connectors, network solutions, and specialty products, has unveiled the advanced Fortis Zd high-speed backplane connector, designed for military and commercial aerospace applications.

As demands on systems for real-time intelligence intensifies, the importance of high-performance interconnection becomes critical. TE Connectivity set out to design a new connector system that supports increasing bandwidth requirements in a ruggedized format to withstand the increased shock and vibration requirements of emerging military applications.

“The goal was to achieve a system that combined the seemingly contradictory features of multi-gigabit speeds and extreme ruggedness,” says Kevin Rock, president, Aerospace, Defense & Marine, TE Connectivity. “Our development engineering team has produced an outstanding product that more than met the challenges set to them–providing a strong path for the next generation of electronic systems in harsh environments.”

TE Connectivity engineers provided ruggedization improvements in the high-speed backplane connector designs by marrying an electrically sophisticated, high-speed contact leadframe with a robust, industry-proven separable contact interface. A metal shell offers an even higher degree of robustness, both in the mating interface and the outer shell of the connector.

By combining the best features of commercial high-speed backplane connectors with proven MIL-SPEC contacts, the new high-performance Fortis Zd connector allows data rates of 10 Gb/s+ and is designed to enable improved communications, unmatched situational awareness, and technologically superior command/control from electronic systems.