Interest growing in fiber and optical connectors for embedded computing and avionics says Bishop & Assoc.
LONG BEACH, Calif., 21 Jan. 2013. The connector market for embedded computingis forecast to reach $168.5 million in 2013, up 4.2 percent year overyear from 2012, said Bob Hult, director of product technology at Bishop& Associates Inc., today at the VITA Embedded Tech Trendsconferencein Long Beach, Calif.
The priority of connectors in overall system design has transformedover the years, Hult reveals. "In the past, connectors were seen asnecessary evil and a source of failure and added cost; they were put onat end of the design cycle, and a low priority. That has changed quite alot; people recognize that connectors are essential."
Today, few connectors fail in an application. In most cases, aconnector failed because something else on the system had failed, suchas a capacitor. Connectors are now proven to be remarkably reliable."Globally, connectors overall constituted a $48 billion business in 2011.
Current embedded computer trends include:
-- Size, weight, and power (SWaP);
-- increasing data rates;
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-- Fiber optic avionics connectors have performance advantages for avionics systems
-- Optical technology: at the speed of light
-- Avionics connector users in commercial and defense applications demanding more capability, smaller size, more EMI protection.
-- environmental resistance (especially for avionics);
-- cost sensitivity (COTS);
-- standards driven; and
-- increasing interest in fiber optics.
"There's a huge amount of interest in fiber in all aspects, includingbandwidth and headroom for bandwidth," Hult says. "There is interestinfiber inside the box, not just as an external I/O from box to box,butfrom board to board and even chip to chip. Fiber is going to be ahugearea of advancement and utilization."
Market trends and applications influencing connector design include:
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