PC/104™ Consortium Products

Samtec's PC/104 Consortium was established in February 1992 to adapt desktop computer technology for embedded applications. PC/104 technology is small, simple and elegant in design, and provides rugged performance on land and in space. It merges the successes of past technologies with the confidence of future innovations. The PC/104 Consortium has evolved and expanded beyond its original purpose since it's inception and adoption. PC/104 Consortium standards include PC/104, PC/104-Plus™, and PC/104-Express™.

PC/104 is a specification accepted as the base document for the IEEE draft standard called the P996.1 Standard for Compact Embedded-PC Modules. It expands upon the existing PC bus allowing companies that embed PC technology in limited space applications to have a standardized system architecture and a broader range of vendors and vendor support.

PC/104 modules can be used as standalone module stacks or component-like applications. Standalone module stacks are self-nesting and spaced at 0.600 inches apart, while PC/104 connectors can also function as highly integrated components. The standard specifies 104 pins: 64 for the P1 and 40 for the P2.

The base PC/104 standard defines a compact form factor that can be used in self-stacking buses, eliminating the cost and bulk of backplanes and card cages. Samtec's ESQ product follows the PC/104 standard and is available in multiple positions, rows, and stack heights (low insertion force contacts are also available). Samtec offers precision machined standoffs to limit the impact of tolerance stack-up issues in stackable embedded applications.

PC/104-Plus specification was accepted in 1997 by the PC/104 Consortium and establishes a standard for embedded applications using a high speed PCI bus.

The PC/104-Plus specifies a 120 pin, 2 mm stackable connector to allow for the additional signals of the 32-bit PCI bus. Like the PC/104 extends upon the PC bus, the PC/104-Plus is an extension of the PC/104 with all the same benefits, plus more. It was also necessary that the PC/104 connectors be capable of being stackable and usable along with standard PC/104 modules (in the same stack). This allows the new PC/104-Plus module to be used in preexisting PC/104 legacy modules, thus expanding its area of use.

Samtec's ESQT product is compliant with the PC/104-Plus standard. The PC/104-Plus standard specifies a 30 x 4 configuration. A press-fit version, as well as a shroud, is also available.

The PCI/104-Express specification establishes a standard for using a high-speed PCI Express® bus in embedded applications. It was developed by the PC/104 Consortium and adopted by member vote in March 2008. The PCI Express was chosen because of its full PC market adoption, performance, scalability, and growing silicon availability worldwide. It provides a new high-performance physical interface while retaining software compatibility with existing PCI infrastructure.

Incorporating the PCI Express bus within the industry-proven PC/104 architecture brings many advantages for embedded applications, including fast data transfer, low cost due to the unique self-stacking bus of PC/104, high reliability due to the inherent ruggedness of PC/104, and long-term sustainability. The PCI/104-Express standard specifies Samtec's Q2™ QMS/QFS products in a three bank (156 pin) orientation for module stacking. Samtec specifically designed the QMS/QFS products with a 15.24 mm stack height for top and bottom board stacking. Q2 has triple the wipe of many high-speed mezzanine interconnects making it appropriate for rugged applications. Samtec also offers precision machined standoffs to limit the impact of tolerance stack-up issues in stackable embedded applications.