Patent ID: 8057240

Claim:
An electrical connector assembly comprising: an electrical connector having a mounting face, the electrical connector having signal terminals extending from the mounting face; and a circuit board having an upper surface and a lower surface, the circuit board comprising signal traces routed through the circuit board, the signal traces having mounting pads defining connection points of the signal traces, the circuit board comprising non-plated vias extending at least partially through the circuit board along parallel via axes, the non-plated vias extending through the mounting pads exposing the mounting pads to corresponding voids defined by the non-plated vias, wherein the non-plated vias are at least partially filled with conductive material to create signal columns, the signal columns engaging the exposed mounting pads of the signal traces to electrically connect the signal columns to the corresponding signal traces, wherein the signal terminals are set in corresponding signal columns, the signal terminals being electrically connected to the signal columns.