What Is a Half-Pitch Connector?
A half-pitch connector is a connector with half the pitch length compared to a regular full pitch connector. The pin length of a full pitch connector is 2.54 mm, while that of a half-pitch connector is 1.27 mm. While most full-pitch connectors are manufactured in accordance with the MIL standard, which is a procurement standard for the US military, and the DIN standard, which is a German industrial standard, half-pitch connectors are available in a variety of standards, depending on the manufacturer.
Applications of Half-Pitch Connectors
Half-pitch connectors serve as interfaces for a variety of electronic devices. They are used in many industrial products, such as measuring equipment, industrial robots, semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment, bullet trains and other railroad products, ATMs, and power generation equipment. Various manufacturers offer half-pitch connectors with their own standards, so it is important to select a half-pitch connector that is suitable for your application. When used as part of a product, it is recommended to select a product that is available in two versions: a socket side with a half-pitch attached and a plug side with a hole that matches the pitch.
Principle of Half-Pitch Connectors
The following explains the principle of half-pitch connectors. Half-pitch connectors are divided into a socket side with a pitch and a plug side with a hole. The socket side consists of a socket contact with a pitch, a housing, which is the body in which the contact is embedded, and a socket shell, which is a case made of insulating material to protect the housing and socket contact. The plug side consists of a plug contact part with a pitched hole, a housing part, and a plug shell. Each part is secured with a fastener called an eyelet.
Connection methods include board-to-board, device-to-device, and short-circuit connectors, IC sockets, and other electronic components. In the board-to-board connection method, a plug and socket are attached to each board for connection. There are different types of connections, such as horizontal, vertical, and stacking connections.
Half-Pitch Connector Substrates
Half-pitch boards have a component pitch of 1.27 mm, half the 2.54 mm of a normal board, making them quite special, and the lead components that can be mounted on them must also match the half-pitch. Among these, connectors must be used whose pin pitch is compatible with the half-pitch. In the past, the half-pitch was a disadvantage because it was out of the standardized 2.54mm pitch. However, recently, the number of leaded components themselves has been decreasing and most components have become surface-mounted components, so that if the circuit is a low-voltage circuit where insulation can be secured, half-pitch boards and connectors with a smaller area and related half-pitch components can be used. As a result, half-pitch circuit board designs are being reevaluated for automobiles and office equipment.
However, narrower pitch has its downsides, such as migration and tracking, which can lead to dielectric breakdown over time and inevitably reduce reliability. Therefore, in order to use half-pitch connectors, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the operating environment.
Half-Pitch Connector-Compatible Semiconductors
Half-pitch connector-compatible semiconductors are semiconductor components that can be mounted on a half-pitch board, which is half the normal board pitch. In the recent semiconductor technology trend toward ultimate miniaturization, the smallest half-pitch of wiring with special narrow-pitch patterns, i.e., staggered contacts, best represents the process capability to produce high-density, low-cost integrated circuits on a per-function basis.
In the past, DRAM has continued to lead the field in metal pitch, but it could well be replaced by other products in the future. For example, in MPU logic, its physical gate minimum length has led it to represent the most advanced technology essential for the highest performance. Traditionally, major technological advances have been represented by metal half-pitch, and DRAM is a good example.