The Solid State Drive (SSD) market is expected to grow rapidly in 2019. Amphenol ICC’s 68 position SAS/PCIe 4.0, connectors come with 16GT/s (PCIe lanes) and 24Gb/s (SAS lanes) speeds to meet the demands of next-generation servers. It supports both NVMe and SAS protocols over four PCIe lanes. While M.2 and SATA connectors support client SSDs, SAS/PCIe 4.0 is made for enterprise SSDs and supports PCIe Gen 4.

Almost all enterprise SSDs follow PCIe protocol, and PCIe Gen 4. is the latest version so far. One of the main applications is U.2 NVMe SSD storage, which is currently based on PCIe Gen 3, and soon will be upgraded to PCIe Gen 4 by end of 2019.

It also supports U.3 applications, PCIe Gen 4 data rate and is backward compatible with SFF8639, 12G/6G/3G SAS, SATA and SAS/PCIe 3.0 connectors. Using the same interface for cost-effective storage HDDs as well as higher-performance server SSDs reduces the time and cost it takes for suppliers to do qualification and verification.

Several key characteristics stand out in making SAS/PCIe 4.0 the reliable standard for enterprise SSDs. The molded guide post allows the device plug and receptacle to self-align during the mating process. With halogen-free high-temperature thermoplastic, these connectors are made to withstand diverse conditions. It also offers a durability of 500 mating cycles. The staggered contact lengths of these connectors provide sequential contact mating for hot-plugging. They also feature stamped clips that act as connector retainers and provide robust PCB attachment with additional mechanical strength after soldering.

Furthermore, SAS/PCIe 4.0 is based on MSA form factor specifications and is part of a recognized standard. With the ease of deployment, hot plug capability, backwards compatibility, small form factor, it is no surprise that the SAS/PCIe 4.0 is the ideal choice and can be found in majority of the SSDs sold today.