Why is micro coaxial cable the first choice for high-speed applications?

 1) Features and applications of micro coaxial cable

With the increase in the use of high-speed Internet and mass storage devices, we can easily enjoy high-quality images and videos on consumer products such as personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. The amount of information that needs to be processed on the device has increased dramatically, and the signal speed (transmission standard) in the device has become faster and faster.

Cables and FPC/FFC are mainly used for jumper connections when transmitting signals and power between the module boards in the equipment. To some extent, the choice of cable or FPC/FFC is determined by signal speed (signal transmission standard) and transmission distance.

 The above-mentioned coaxial cables include micro coaxial cables and twin-core cables.

With the increase in signal transmission speed in recent years, the application of micro coaxial cables in jumper equipment has become more and more widespread.

2) Signal transmission advantages of micro coaxial cable

Signal transmission characteristics are affected by several parameters, including impedance, insertion loss, return loss, and crosstalk, for example. The following are some of the main reasons why micro coaxial cables are generally considered to have signal transmission advantages in high-speed signal transmission.

Reduce return loss:

The center conductor, insulator and outer conductor of the micro coaxial line are matched appropriately, and the performance is stable under a specific impedance. The matched and stable impedance produces low return loss.

Reduce insertion loss:

Compared with FPC/FFC, the micro coaxial line can ensure a larger cross-sectional area of the center conductor when matching a specific impedance, thereby minimizing the insertion loss.

Improve shielding performance:

The outer conductor acts as an electromagnetic shield, so the electrical signal transmitted on the center conductor is not easily affected by electromagnetic waves (electromagnetic noise) from the outside. In addition, the shielding effect of the outer conductor helps reduce crosstalk between signals.

3) Mechanical advantages of micro coaxial cable

The reason why micro coaxial cable is usually used is because it has higher flexibility than shielded FPC/FFC and can maintain stable electrical characteristics even when bent.

Flexible micro coaxial cables are suitable for devices with rotating shafts. Cables need to be routed in the equipment, such as laptop PC tablet rotating shafts and mobile cameras on drones. With the increase in applications including high-definition cameras and panels, along with faster signal transmission speeds, micro coaxial cables that combine high-speed signal characteristics and mechanical advantages have become the preferred solution.

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