Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing and contact assemblies. The housing includes shroud walls and a base having a front side and a rear side. The front side of the base and the shroud walls define a cavity configured to receive a mating connector. The base is electrically conductive and has chambers extending therethrough that are defined by chamber walls. The contact assemblies are received in the chambers. Each contact assembly has a signal pod surrounded on at least two sides by a ground shield. The signal pod includes a dielectric body holding a pair of signal contacts. The dielectric body engages interior sides of the ground shield to electrically insulate the signal contacts from the ground shield. Exterior sides of the ground shield engage the chamber walls of the base to electrically connect the ground shield to the base.

Abstract: A communication system includes a receptacle cage and a circuit board. The receptacle cage has walls defining a port that is configured to receive a pluggable module therein. The receptacle cage houses a communication connector configured to electrically connect to the pluggable module. The receptacle cage and the communication connector therein are both mounted on a top face of the circuit board. The circuit board defines at least one opening through the circuit board in a port mounting area that aligns with the port of the receptacle cage. The at least one opening is configured to receive heat dissipating fins therethrough that transfer heat from the pluggable module in the port through the circuit board to a cooling fluid beyond a bottom face of the circuit board.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing and a plurality of ground wafers and signal wafers. A front side is configured to mate with a mating connector. The ground wafers and signal wafers are stacked next to one another along a stack axis. The ground wafers are interleaved between adjacent pairs of the signal wafers. Each signal wafer includes at least one signal conductor held by a signal holder that is composed of a first material. Each ground wafer includes at least one ground conductor held by a ground holder that is composed of second material. The second material is a lossy material and the first material is a low loss dielectric material that has a loss tangent that is lower than a loss tangent of the lossy material. The signal conductors and the ground conductors are configured to engage and electrically connect to the mating connector.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing and plural contact modules stacked adjacent to each other and held by the housing. Each contact module includes a contact array, a dielectric holder, and lossy blocks. The contact array includes signal contacts and ground contacts arranged in alternating pairs along a length of a column. The dielectric holder surrounds and engages the signal and ground contacts along intermediate segments thereof to secure the signal and ground contacts in place. The lossy blocks are mounted to the intermediate segments of the ground contacts within the dielectric holder. Each lossy block is associated with a corresponding pair of ground contacts and engages at least one of the ground contacts in the pair. The lossy blocks are composed of a lossy material that has a greater loss tangent than a low loss material that forms the dielectric holder.

Abstract: Electrical connector includes a connector body and a plurality of electrical contacts coupled to the connector body. Each of the electrical contacts has an elongated body that includes a base material and an impedance-control material plated over the base material. The impedance-control material extends along only a designated portion of the elongated body. The impedance-control material has a relative magnetic permeability that is greater than a relative magnetic permeability of the base material. The impedance-control material increasing an impedance of the electrical contact along the designated portion.

Abstract: An electrical contact is provided. The electrical contact includes a mating segment configured to engage another contact. The mating segment extends a length to a contact end of the mating segment. The mating segment includes a first mating zone that is located a distance from the contact end along the length of the mating segment. The first mating zone is configured to intimately engage the other contact in a first plane for electrical communication between the electrical contact and the other contact. The mating segment includes a second mating zone that is offset from the first mating zone along the length of the mating segment in a direction toward the contact end. The second mating zone is configured to intimately engage the other contact in a second plane that extends approximately perpendicular to the first plane for electrical communication between the electrical contact and the other contact.

Abstract: In an illustrative embodiment of an aircraft cabin passenger seating arrangement, first and second adjacent passenger seats are positioned at different angles with reference to a longitudinal axis of an aircraft, and longitudinally offset from each other such that the first seat is positioned forward of the second seat by an amount less than a length of the second passenger seat when in the lie-flat position. The first and second adjacent passenger seats may be longitudinally offset from a third passenger seat separated from the second passenger seat by an aisle, the third passenger seat disposed proximate a fourth passenger seat, such that a row of passenger seats includes two staggered groups of passenger seating. The first passenger seat may be vertically offset from the second passenger seat.

Abstract: A method for using an in-message application. The method includes: receiving a broadcast message; identifying, in the broadcast message, a reference to an external data provider; obtaining an identifier of the in-message application from the external data provider; using the identifier to identify a set of components of the in-message application, where placement of the set of components is defined by a visual structure of the in-message application, and where each of the set of components is a user interface (UI) element; associating data obtained from the external data provider with a component of the set of components; and serving the broadcast message and the data to a consumer client, where the consumer client renders the in-message application based on the visual structure.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing having a base with signal and ground contact openings therethrough and contact modules coupled to the base. Each contact module includes a dielectric holder holding signal contacts having mating portions received in corresponding signal contact openings and extending into a chamber for mating with a mating electrical connector. A ground shield is coupled to the dielectric holder having a plurality of rails. At least two of the rails have ground hoods extending forward of the mating end of the dielectric holder along the mating portions of the signal contacts. The ground hoods are received in corresponding ground contact openings and extend into the chamber for mating with the mating electrical connector.

Abstract: Electrical connector includes a connector housing. The electrical connector also includes a plurality of signal conductors coupled to the connector housing. Each of the signal conductors has a first terminal, a second terminal, and an elongated conductor body extending between the first and second terminals. The first terminals are configured to engage corresponding conductive elements of an electrical component. The electrical connector also includes a ground structure coupled to the connector housing. The ground structure is positioned between adjacent signal conductors and has an exterior surface. At least a portion the exterior surface has a textured area that is configured to dampen reflected energy that propagates there along.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing, signal pods, and ground shields. The housing has a base that is electrically conductive. The base has chambers and ground slots extending therethrough. The chambers are defined by chamber walls that separate the chambers from the ground slots. The signal pods, which each include a dielectric body holding a pair of signal contacts, are received in the chambers. The dielectric body engages the chamber walls and electrically insulates the signal contacts from the base. The ground shields are received in the ground slots. Each ground shield surrounds an associated signal pod on at least two sides to provide electrical shielding for the signal contacts in the signal pod from other signal contacts.

Abstract: Pluggable connector includes a plug housing configured to couple to a communication cable. The plug housing has a plug cavity. The pluggable connector also includes a module board that is disposed within the plug cavity and configured to be communicatively coupled to the communication cable. The module board has a mating edge configured to interface with a mating connector. The module board includes a plurality of signal pathways and a plurality of ground pathways in which the signal pathways are interleaved between corresponding ground pathways. The signal and ground pathways include respective contact pads that are disposed proximate to the mating edge for engaging corresponding contacts of the mating connector. Each of the ground pathways has separate first and second trace segments and a damping component that electrically joins the first and second trace segments.

Abstract: Printed circuit includes a planar substrate having opposite sides and a thickness extending therebetween. The sides extend parallel to a lateral plane. The printed circuit also includes a plurality of conductive vias extending through the planar substrate in a direction that is perpendicular to the lateral plane. The conductive vias include ground vias and signal vias. The signal vias form a plurality of quad groups in which each quad group includes a two-by-two array of the signal vias. Optionally, the printed circuit also includes signal traces that electrically couple to the signal vias. The signal traces may form a plurality of quad lines in which each quad line includes four of the signal traces. The four signal traces of each quad line may extend parallel to one another and be in a two-by-two formation.

Abstract: Data center network architectures, systems, and methods that can reduce the cost and complexity of data center networks. Such data center network architectures, systems, and methods employ physical optical ring network and multi-dimensional network topologies and optical nodes to efficiently allocate bandwidth within the data center networks, while reducing the physical interconnectivity requirements of the data center networks. The respective optical nodes can be configured to provide various switching topologies, including, but not limited to, chordal ring switching topologies and multi-dimensional chordal ring switching topologies.

Abstract: A dielectric waveguide for propagating electromagnetic signals includes a cladding and an electrically conductive shield. The cladding has a body composed of a first dielectric material. The body defines a core region therethrough that is filled with a second dielectric material different than the first dielectric material. The cladding further includes at least two ribs extending from an outer surface of the body to distal ends. The shield engages the distal ends of the ribs and peripherally surrounds the cladding such that air gaps are defined radially between the outer surface of the body and an interior surface of the shield.

Abstract: A waveguide assembly for propagating electromagnetic signals along a defined path includes a conductive waveguide and a dielectric waveguide. The conductive waveguide includes two side walls that extend parallel to each other between first and second ends of the conductive waveguide. A channel is defined between the two side walls. The dielectric waveguide includes a cladding formed of a first dielectric material. The cladding defines a core region therethrough that is filled with a second dielectric material different than the first dielectric material. A mating end of the dielectric waveguide is received in the channel at the first end of the conductive waveguide to electromagnetically connect the dielectric waveguide to the conductive waveguide. A remainder of the dielectric waveguide is exterior of the conductive waveguide and extends away from the conductive waveguide.

Abstract: A waveguide assembly for propagating electromagnetic signals includes first and second dielectric waveguides and a shield. Each of the first and second dielectric waveguides includes a cladding formed of a first dielectric material. The cladding defines a core region therethrough that is filled with a second dielectric material different than the first dielectric material. The shield is disposed between the first dielectric waveguide and the second dielectric waveguide. The shield is electrically conductive. The shield does not surround an entire perimeter of either of the first dielectric waveguide or the second dielectric waveguide.

Abstract: A communication system includes a receptacle cage and a circuit board. The receptacle cage has walls defining a port that is configured to receive a pluggable module therein. The receptacle cage houses a communication connector configured to electrically connect to the pluggable module. The receptacle cage and the communication connector therein are both mounted on a top face of the circuit board. The circuit board defines at least one opening through the circuit board in a port mounting area that aligns with the port of the receptacle cage. The at least one opening is configured to receive heat dissipating fins therethrough that transfer heat from the pluggable module in the port through the circuit board to a cooling fluid beyond a bottom face of the circuit board.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing stack comprising a front housing and a rear housing coupled to the front housing at a seam. The housing stack defines plural contact cavities that extend continuously through the front housing and the rear housing between mating and mounting ends. A lossy spacer is disposed at the seam between the front and rear housings. The lossy spacer has plural contact cavities aligned with corresponding contact cavities of the housing stack. Signal and ground contacts are disposed in corresponding contact cavities of the housing stack. The signal contacts extend through the lossy spacer such that the signal contacts do not directly engage the lossy spacer. The ground contacts extend through the contact cavities in the lossy spacer such that the ground contacts are coupled by the lossy spacer.

Abstract: Ion optics devices and related methods of making and using the same are disclosed herein that generally involve forming a plurality of electrode structures on a single substrate. An aspect ratio of the structures relative to a plurality of recesses which separate the structures can be selected so as to substantially prevent ions passing through the finished device from contacting exposed, electrically-insulating portions of the substrate. The substrate material can be a material that is relatively inexpensive and easy to machine into complex shapes with high precision (e.g., a printed circuit board material). In some embodiments, discrete ion optical elements are disclosed which can be formed from a core material to which an electrically-conductive coating is applied, the core material being relatively inexpensive and easy to machine with high precision. The coating can be configured to substantially prevent outgassing from the core under the vacuum conditions typically experienced in a mass spectrometer.