TE Connectivity — QSFP-DD Connectors

TE Connectivity (TE) is providing an ultra-high data rate connector system for next-generation data centers with the introduction of the quad small form-factor pluggable-double density (QSFP-DD) connector system. The QSFP-DD system is comprised of surface-mount connectors, cages, and cables.

Providing eight electronic signaling channels, rather than the four channels in a single-density system, the QSFP-DD product supports 28 Gbits/s non-return to zero (NRZ) modulation or 56 Gbits/s pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-4), enabling it to achieve speeds of 200 or 400 Gbits/s in aggregate per port.

The portfolio of QSFP-DD products includes 1×1 to 1×6 cages and surface-mount connectors, as well as QSFP-DD 2×1 cages and connectors which have a stacked configuration, giving more height from the host board to allow for a more airflow and larger heat-sinks.

The QSFP-DD products are able to be used for 15 W to 18 W applications due to the proprietary heat-sink technology. Designers can select heat-sink heights on the cages from standard PCIe (4.2 mm), SAN (6.5 mm) or NET (13.5 mm) heights, or define their own heat-sink heights.

The number of light pipes in the connectors, cages and cables can also be configured with a choice of one, two, or four.

QSFP-DD cable assemblies are similar to QSFP28, which have four channels/eight pairs. The QSFP-DD cable assemblies provide twice as many channels, with eight channels/16 pairs, by using a second row of contacts and pads on the front of the PCB.

The new connectors are fully backward-compatible, providing an easy upgrade path for applications using existing QSFP solutions. The QSFP-DD portfolio’s backwards compatibility allows existing QSFP modules to be plugged into QSFP-DD ports.