Patent ID: 6988902

Claim:
An electrical connector comprising: three electrical contacts, each of which defines, in cross-section at a respective mating end thereof, an edge and a broadside that is longer than the edge, wherein the three electrical contacts are positioned edge-to-edge along a first linear array of electrical contacts, wherein two adjacent electrical contacts define a first differential signal pair and the remaining electrical contact defines a ground contact; a second differential signal pair and a second ground contact positioned along a second linear array of electrical contacts that is adjacent to the first linear array of electrical contacts; and a third differential signal pair and a third ground contact positioned along a third linear array of electrical contacts that is adjacent to the second linear array of electrical contacts, wherein (i) the electrical connector is devoid of shields between the first, second, and third linear arrays of electrical contacts; (ii) the second differential signal pair is offset by a row pitch or less along the second linear array of electrical contacts with respect to each of the first differential signal pair and the third differential signal pair; and (iii) a first gap is defined between the two adjacent electrical contacts of the first differential signal pair and the first gap is equal to a second gap defined between one of the contacts of the first differential signal pair and the ground contact.