Midplane especially applicable to an orthogonal architecture electronic system

A midplane having a first side to which contact ends of a first differential connector are connected and a second side opposite the first side to which contact ends of a second differential connector are connected, the midplane comprising:

• a plurality of first vias extending from the first side to the second side with the first vias providing first signal launches on the first side and second signal launches on the second side;
• the first signal launches are provided in a plurality of rows for electrically connecting to the contact ends of the first differential connector, with each row having first signal launches along a first line and first signal launches along a second line substantially parallel to the first line, and the first signal launches along the first and second lines are offset so that first signal launches along the first line and adjacent first signal launches along the second line correspond to differential pairs of the first differential connector;
• the second signal launches are provided in a plurality of columns for electrically connecting to the contact ends of the second differential connector, with each column having second signal launches along a third line and second signal launches along a fourth line substantially parallel to the third line, and the second signal launches along the third and fourth lines are offset so that second signal launches along the third line and adjacent second signal launches along the fourth line correspond to differential pairs of the second differential connector;
• and
• a plurality of second vias extending from the first side to the second side with the second vias providing first ground launches on the first side and second ground launches on the second side.

An interconnection system comprising:

• a printed circuit board having a first surface and second surface;
• a first connector mounted on the first surface, the first connector having a plurality of signal conductors, each of the signal conductors having a mating contact portion and a contact tail, with the plurality of signal conductors positioned in pairs with a first signal conductor of each pair having a contact tail offset from the mating contact portion of the first signal conductor in a first direction and a second signal conductor of each pair offset from the mating contact portion of the second signal conductor in a second direction;
• and
• a second connector mounted on the second surface, the second connector having a plurality of signal conductors, each of the signal conductors having a mating contact portion and a contact tail, with the plurality of signal conductors positioned in pairs with a first signal conductor of each pair having a contact tail offset from the mating contact portion of the first signal conductor in a third direction and a second signal conductor of each pair offset from the mating contact portion of the second signal conductor in a fourth direction.

An interconnection system comprising an electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising:

• a plurality of signal conductors, each signal conductor having a contact tail and a mating contact portion, wherein
• the signal conductors are disposed in pairs, each pair having a first mating portion and a second mating portion positioned along a first axis and a first contact tail and a second contact tail positioned along a second axis;
• and
• the first axis is offset angularly from the second axis by approximately 45 degrees.