PCB BGA gigabit tranceivers 1

[xray]

Is anyone using pcb design to incorporate two boards with gigabit transceivers, like a motherboard and a daughterboard?
I would like to design a system that allows gigabit tranceivers from pcb to pcb without component connections in between the boards. I am thinking of a BGA to implement it. Is there any technical literature out that would accelerate my design? I have made a preliminary search but have not yet stumbled across anything.

Thank you for your consideration.

Cy Drollinger

 

[Noway2]

First, unless you mean something totally different than I think you do, BGA is a package type that stands for Ball Grid Array. It has nothing to do with the application or gigabit transceivers. Second, you need to think about your design and why you need / want gigabit transceivers (e.g. do you really need that kind of band width and is it really appropriate for your application). Third, your post indicated wanting to communicate between boards that do not have component connections. Clarify "component connections, please.

Otherwise, based on your post, my first suggestion would be to look at fiber optic drivers/receivers. Agilent makes some very good ones. Fiber optic will give you tremendous isolation between the devices, will be virtually noise immune and is very easy to drive and receive with standard digital logic.

 

[IRstuff]

I think the OP was referring to using BGA as the connection between daughter card/motherboard. The choice of interconnection depends on tradeoffs between density, cost, performance, environment, etc. Only by doing the proper requirements analysis can you decide which technology to use.

BGA implies something that requires high density, but no vibration or temperature extremes. Even then, BGA does not have the apparent density implied by the BGA spacing constraints, since the actual wiring needs to get to the components on their respective boards. Also, since BGAs are low profile, this implies a proximity of the boards that often cannot be supported by the other components you need to place on the boards.

You might want to consider the connector types used in cell phones. I've taken apart a Razr, and most of the connectors are extremely low profile, reasonable density, yet robust against a moderately rough handling environment.

TTFN

FAQ731-376