Very high speed, high density electrical interconnection system with edge to broadside transition

An electrical connector, comprising:

• a plurality of pairs of signal conductors, each pair comprising a first signal conductor and a second signal conductor, each of the first signal conductor and the second signal conductor comprising:
• a first end portion and a second end portion;
• a contact tail formed at the first end portion;
• a mating contact portion formed at the second end portion;
• and
• an intermediate portion joining the first end portion and the second end portion, wherein at least the intermediate portion comprises broadsides and edges;
• and
• at least one insulative housing portion holding the pair of signal conductors;
• and
• for each pair of the plurality of pairs of signal conductors, at least one shield member extending around the pair of signal conductors and separated from the pair of signal conductors by the at least one insulative housing portion,
• wherein:
• the plurality of pairs of signal conductors are aligned in a plurality of columns;
• within each column of the plurality of columns, the mating contact portions of the signal conductors of the pairs of signal conductors in the column are disposed along a first line and the contact tails of the signal conductors of the pairs of signal conductors in the column are disposed along a second line;
• the intermediate portions of the signal conductors of each of the plurality of pairs of signal conductors are configured for broadside coupling;
• and
• the at least one shield member comprises a slot parallel to the intermediate portions of the first signal conductor and the second signal conductor.

An electrical connector comprising:

• a plurality of modules, each of the plurality of modules comprising an insulative housing portion and at least one conductive element held by the insulative housing portion, and at least one shield member extending around the at least one conductive element and separated from the at least one conductive element by the at least one insulative housing portion, each of the at least one conductive element comprising:
• a first end portion and a second end portion,
• a contact tail formed at the first end portion,
• a mating contact portion formed at the second end portion, and
• an intermediate portion joining the first end portion and the second end portion;
• and
• a housing holding the plurality of modules in a two-dimensional array, wherein:
• for each of the plurality of modules, the at least one shield member comprises first and second U-shaped components, each of the first and second U-shaped components comprises a portion of a slot parallel to the intermediate portions of the at least one conductive element.

An electrical connector comprising:

• a plurality of pairs of signal conductors, each pair comprising a first signal conductor and a second signal conductor, each of the first signal conductor and the second signal conductor comprising:
• a first end portion and a second end portion;
• a contact tail formed at the first end portion;
• a mating contact portion formed at the second end portion;
• and
• an intermediate portion joining the first end portion and the second end portion;
• and
• for each pair of the plurality of pairs of signal conductors, at least one shield member extending around the pair of signal conductors and comprising a pair of contact tails;
• wherein the contact tails of the plurality of pairs of signal conductors are aligned in a column;
• wherein the signal conductors of each pair are configured such that:
• the intermediate portion of the first signal conductor is adjacent to and parallel to the intermediate portion of the second signal conductor so as to provide broadside coupling between the intermediate portions of the first signal conductor and the second signal conductor;
• the contact tail of the first signal conductor is adjacent to and aligned with the contact tail of the second signal conductor along a first direction parallel to the broadsides so as to provide edge coupling between the contact tail of the first signal conductor and the contact tail of the second signal conductor;
• and
• the pair of contact tails of the at least one shield member are edge-coupled and aligned with each other in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.