In its seventh year, Design World’s LEAP Awards showcase the best engineering innovations across several design categories. This wouldn’t be possible without the commitment and support of the engineering community. The editorial team assembles OEM design engineers and academics each year to create an independent judging panel. Below is their selection for this year’s LEAP Awards winners in the Connectivity category.

Congratulations to the winners of  the LEAP Awards for Connectivity, who are profiled here.

Gold

TE Connectivity
EEPROM Smart Connector

The innovative EEPROM Smart Connector integrates an EEPROM chip into a small, two-position connector, simplifying PCB identification and personality assignment. Manufacturers can produce identical control boards for an entire product family. Operators only need to plug in the pre-programmed smart connector in the factory to define the model, prompting the associated software for that control board to run. Using this EEPROM connector, customers can reduce costs in various phases of the product lifecycle. In design, they can save valuable board real estate with its compact footprint. Leveraging volume production and simplifying inventory management greatly reduces manufacturing costs. Finally, this product eliminates the need to order and stock different models of control boards, streamlining service efforts.  The universal board can be field-programmed by plugging in the smart connector from the original board. All previous configuration and user-related data can be transferred to the new board. This method greatly improves the end-user experience, shortening service time and eliminating delays caused by ordering specific boards.

Silver

Astera Labs
Aries PCIe/CXL Smart Cable Modules

Astera Labs’ Aries Smart Cable Modules™ (SCMs) are a first-of-its-kind, innovative connectivity solution that extends high-bandwidth PCI Express® (PCIe®) and Compute Express Link® (CXL®) data protocols from within the server — where the standards are traditionally used — to outside the server. This enables GPU clusters and low-latency memory fabrics applications within and across data center racks.

As AI models grow in size and complexity, training them now requires clustering hundreds of GPUs together using a high-speed back-end AI fabric in a multi-rack architecture. This evolution faces multiple challenges, most notably the 3-meter reach limitation and lack of critical data center management features of passive Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cables.

To overcome these connectivity challenges, Astera Labs designed Aries SCMs for integration into any vendor’s Active Electrical Cable (AEC) assemblies to create thin and flexible copper cables that span up to an industry-leading 7 meters while driving up to 128 GB/s of bandwidth over industry standard, non-proprietary PCIe or CXL protocols. Aries SCMs support multiple form factors and configurations to accommodate the diverse range of AI system topologies deployed in next-generation hyperscale infrastructure.

Astera Labs’ COSMOS software suite enhances Aries SCMs by providing server-grade customizable Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS), link health monitoring, and extensive fleet management capabilities. These capabilities enable hyperscalers to gain deeper insights into the health of every PCIe Link in a large GPU cluster, ensuring high reliability and uptime, which is critical during the AI training process.

Bronze

Cinch Connectivity
H28-100G-SR4 Transceiver

Cinch presents the H28-100G-SR4 Transceiver, a product that exemplifies engineering excellence in high-performance connectivity solutions. This transceiver is specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of aerospace, defense, industrial, and other harsh environment applications.

The H28-100G-SR4 Transceiver is built to withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C, ensuring reliable performance in challenging conditions. It features four TX and RX channels, each capable of delivering a data rate of 25.78Gbps, achieving a total data rate of up to 100Gbps. This high-speed capability suits data-intensive applications.

The transceiver’s compact design also includes a BGA mounting bracket and electrical interposer. It is ideal for space-constrained environments, with a mated height of less than 0.2 inches and less than one square inch of PCB space. It uses a custom route fibre ribbon, which ensures high performance and reliability. This is crucial for maintaining signal integrity in harsh conditions.

The H28-100G-SR4 incorporates Stratos’ Fibre Flex technology and supports custom pigtail routing. This reduces the need for bulky cable trays and tie-downs, resulting in a cleaner, more efficient design. The removable, solder-less, pin-less design allows engineers to tailor the transceiver to their specific needs, enhancing versatility and ease of use.

The H28-100G-SR4 Transceiver by Cinch is a testament to our commitment to delivering cutting-edge, reliable, efficient connectivity solutions. Its innovative design and robust performance make it a standout choice for professionals in demanding industries.

Honorable Mention

Molex
MX-DaSH

MX-DaSH, which stands for “Molex Data-Signal Hybrid,” is a family of data-signal hybrid connectors that unify power, signal, and high-speed data connectivity in a single connector system. Launched in June 2024, these innovative wire-to-wire and wire-to-board connectors support customers’ transitions to zonal architecture and address emerging applications requiring reliable data transmission. These include autonomous driving modules, camera systems, GPS and infotainment devices, LiDAR, high-resolution displays, sensor-device connectivity, and more.

In the automotive sector, these compact connectors combine functionality to save space while empowering design engineers to reduce wiring harness costs and complexity. With MX-DaSH, designers can mix and match different terminal sizes and types for unprecedented design freedom and flexibility. 

MX-DaSH connectors offer sealed and unsealed options to optimize next-generation automotive architectures with various environmental and design requirements. Versatile configurations support different power and signal terminal sizes, such as 0.50, 0.64, 1.20, 1.50, 2.80, or 4.80mm, and high-speed FAKRA Mini (HFM®) and Ethernet for high-speed data transmission. 

To ensure heightened reliability, MX-DaSH wire-to-wire connectors feature industry-leading male blade stabilization and independent secondary locks for robust and reliable terminal mating. Moreover, MX-DaSH empowers automotive engineers to accommodate a growing mix of devices and sensors with different network requirements by offering sections or cartridges that support various interfaces without changing form factors or footprints. 

Validated by global industry standard groups, including USCAR, Peugeot, and IFC, MX-DaSH connectors enable wiring harness designers to simplify wiring design and achieve savings through weight and connector count reduction.