Electrical connector with ESD protection

An electrical connector comprising:

• a dielectric housing including a mating face and a mounting face;
• a plurality of electrical wafers held within said housing, each of said wafers including a first side, a second side opposite the first side, a mating end proximate said housing mating face, and a mounting edge proximate said housing mounting face, said mating end including signal contact pads and ground contact pads on said first side of said wafer;
• and
• an electrostatic discharge (ESD) shield integrally formed on one of the first and second sides of each said wafer, said EMI shield extending substantially adjacent and parallel to said mating end.

An electrical wafer for a connector comprising:

• a planar substrate having a first side and an opposite second side;
• a plurality of signal contact pads and ground contact pads located on said first side, said signal contact pads and ground contact pads each having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axis of each signal contact pad and ground contact pad extending generally parallel to one another and in a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the first edge, said first edge comprising a mating edge that defines a mating end;
• and
• an electrostatic discharge (ESD) shield integrally formed on one of said first and second sides, said ESD shield extending generally parallel to said first edge and generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of each of the signal contact pads and the ground contact pads, said ESD shield configured to receive an ESD before the signal contact pads and the ground contact pads.