02.03.2012 // Posted by: John MacWilliams // Posted in: Articles, Connectors

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In spite of the drastic changes our industry has experienced in the past decade, including two major recessions and the migration of manufacturing to Asia, electronics and connector designers produced a dazzling array of new products and innovations. The most visible of these developments occurred in CCC: Consumer, Computer, and Communications markets. Our consumer products and behavior are not just updated, they are completely transformed by technology.

What’s enabling this latest wave in the technological revolution? We credit a variety of innovations, modifications, and suddenly essential new devices. We rank the best, most game-changing developments in several categories. If we’ve left out your game-changer, Let us know. You can sound off at the bottom of the page.

Electronic Equipment and Hardware/Software Innovations that Increase Hardware Demand
Hardware: WiFi – 802.11n at 54Mb/s GPS – The application and hardware delivery iPhone/Smartphones iPad External USB hard drives   SD cards/Solid state thumb drives, followed by solid state disks Areal density of magnetic hard disks HDTV, combined with large HD flat screen LCD panel technology BluRay DVD players and recorders iMac and other all-in-one desktops MacBook Air, followed by Windows UltraBooks MacBook Pro cast aluminum-cased laptops  Multi-core CPUs Intel Tri-Gate transistor technology General Advances in Moore’s Law – including 3D, SiP, and SoC technologies CMOS image sensors Chip-stacking/3D chip packaging MEMS – Accelerometers, position sensors, and other MEMS applications Lead-free soldering revolution and other environmental electronics Blade servers Solid-state batteries Hybrid electric and electric vehicles Electric vehicle charging infrastructure begins to develop Fuel cell vehicle innovation Deep space and exploratory satellites, Mars rovers, end of successful space shuttle program Military drones Soldier-on-the-Move battlefield electronics/communications Ever-evolving Ethernet: Gb, 10Gb, industrial, HARTING fast-track switching Laser-direct structuring for molded interconnect devices Constant evolutionary improvements in organic PCB technology (materials, flame retardants, density)  Drone attack aircraft
Software/Firmware: The Google search engine (and others) Google Maps (and others) YouTube Facebook iPhone OS, Google Android Voice-over-Internet Protocol Apple Siri and other voice recognition firmware Handheld Apps – the concept and explosion of third-party applications, starting with iPhone Cloud computing, storage, and software applications iTunes music, video, books, and other print media Amazon.com Kindle book reader family Server virtualization Video games moving toward virtual reality
Infrastructure: Broadband Internet access with multimedia video streaming Fiber-to-the-Curb Online revolution in music, publications, and movie industries Massive shift from film cameras to digital Silicon solar panels with net metering Alternative power generation (solar, wind energy, hydrogen/fuel cell) Explosion of RFID technology LED lighting Smart grid power consumption
Connectors: USB 2.0-3.0 480Mb/s-4.8Gb/s Thunderbolt 10 Gb/s Apple/Intel DisplayPort, active cables, potential for 120Gb applications HDMI Major/Min/Micro: 5-10Gb/s Apple iPhone/iPad I/O connector Apple MagSafe spring-loaded charging connector Spring-Loaded Contact (SLC) sockets for battery/cradle and electric vehicle charging stations New circular/pluggable medical/industrial connectors with SLC contacts (e.g. ITT Cannon Nemesis) SATA < 600Mb/s RJ45 evolution to power-over-Ethernet and Gb/s Ethernet speeds CFP, QSFP, and CXP connector modules for 40 and 100GbE GBIC at 120Gb/s, SFP, and other high-speed Infiniband; Gb Ethernet, and other high-speed I/O DRAM/DIMM sockets from DDR through DDR3, and soon DDR4 Resilient and long-lasting SIM card connection for GSM phones PCI bus connectors through PCI Express High performance 10Gb+ backplane connectors SD and other flash storage card connectors for cameras, phones, laptops, etc. BLGA 2011+ pin processor sockets 10-20 and potentially 40Gb/s/channel backplane connector designs SFF and fine-pitch FPC/FEC connectors to 300m pitch Circular connector designs for industrial, military, and medical apps, including spring-loaded contacts Electric/plug-in hybrid charging Solar panel inverter/micro-inverter connectors Pluggable LED lighting sockets and connectors such as Molex Helieon sustainable solid state lighting modules Toshiba Toslink optical audio connector FAKRA/USCAR Fakra-SMB molded plastic RF connectors for automotive telematics Numerous small form factor connectors, e.g. 250m pitch FPC PCB Connector Active fiber optic cable assemblies, such as TE Connectivity PARALIGHT Micro-Mini POD 120Gb/s 12-channel/10.3Gb, Rx/Tx fiber optic active cables from Avago  Test-in-Tray technology for future IC manufacturing/test integration (e.g. Centipede Systems) High performance, subminiature spring probe test sockets, (e.g. Aries CSP test socket) Developments in micro-wire, ultra-miniature conductor/contact technology Proliferation of alternative contact technologies (coiled spring, hyperboloid, SLC, other) Numerous company-specific connector developments
Our Top 10 Picks We have combined several innovations under a common theme.
Hardware:    WiFi: Its major impact on how we access data at home and on the road. GPS: Enables pinpoint location accuracy. Revolutionizes mapping. Starts many new applications. iPhone: Takes world by storm. Creates a huge set of new applications. Revolutionizes mobile phone industry. iPad: After many failed attempts, a new, breathtaking way to access and view digital multimedia content. HDTV: Sea change in TV viewing. Rapid decline of bulky CRT TVs, saving space, weight while enhancing picture quality. IC Advances: Multi-Core CPUs, MEMS, image sensors, Intel Tri-Gate Transistors, and continued progress of Moore’s Law. Environmental Electronics: Lead-free soldering is a major paradigm shift for the industry, as are other initiatives. Alternative Energy Products: HEV/EV/Battery technology, solar panels, evolving infrastructure. New electronic markets. Military Drones: Hats off to DARPA, who championed this highly productive war technology. Proverbial Ethernet: Has evolved from its original 802.3 to 1, 10, and 40GbE
Software/Firmware: Google Search Engine: Perhaps the most productive concept ever developed by man. iTunes/Amazon.com: Massive shift in how people access music, videos, and reading material. Mobile Operating Systems: OSX, Android, MSFT. Placing the world at your fingertips, wherever you are. Google Maps: Visit the world without leaving your living room. Apple Siri and other Voice Recognition: The beginning of ubiquitous voice input-output. Cloud Computing: Will revolutionize the computer industry and change software delivery forever. Server Virtualization: Will have a major impact on future server hardware configurations. Facebook: Say what you want, but Facebook revolutionizes personal interaction, for better or worse. VoIP: Voice-over-Internet (Skype, Magic Jack, other) will be another nail in the coffin of POTS. Mac OSX: Combined with iMac, MacBook hardware did the impossible: Made a major dent in Wintel.
Infrastructure: Broadband Internet: We now have it, but need Internet III ASAP. Alternative Energy Infrastructure: In its infancy and not without challenges. Digital Photography: Perhaps the quickest turnover of a venerable industry ever: Film-to-Digital (or Music- and Video-to-Digital). RFID: Evolving productivity engine from inventory control to POS to the turnpike. LED Lighting: When fully involved can retire 150-200 power plants in the U.S.
Connectors: USB: 10 billion/year strong has revolutionized I/O. 3.0 at 4.8Gb/s; future optical USB at 100Gb/s (if you ever need it). Thunderbolt: 10Gb daisy chaining I/O with a world of applications ahead. Cost may be an issue. HDMI: In all its iterations, has streamlined video/audio equipment. SATA: Has made a major contribution to storage, and is portable to SSD. SDRAM/DIMM/DDR3: Continuing evolution of DRAM to ever-higher bandwidth, in a high tech but economical socket. DDR4 emerging. PCI Bus: Dating back to 1993, with PCI Express released in 2004, is the de facto standard bus architecture for personal computers. High-Performance Backplane Connectors: From several companies. Far exceeding gigabit performance levels not thought possible. SD and Other Flash Storage Connectors: Enabling, via the NAND Flash revolution, a host of portable products and solid-state memory expansion. Range of High-Speed Active Cable Assemblies and Connectors: CXP-GBIC, SFP, and fixed active optical cable assemblies to 120Gb/s. RJ45 Evolution:  To Gb levels, Power-over-Ethernet, MagJack Gb Ethernet, industrial Ethernet/harsh environment connectors.