Patent ID: 8784116

Claim:
A card edge electrical connector comprising: a connector housing; a plurality of electrical signal contacts supported by the connector housing, each electrical signal contact including a contact body that defines a mating end and a mounting end, wherein respective pairs of the plurality of electrical signal contacts define differential signal pairs, a plurality of ground plates supported by the connector housing, each of the plurality of ground plates including a first ground mating end that defines a first ground flow return path and a second ground mating end that defines a second ground flow return path, wherein the first and second ground flow return paths of at least one ground plate of the plurality of ground plates are substantially symmetrical with respect to one another, wherein the mating ends of the plurality of electrical signal contacts and the first and second ground mating ends of the plurality of ground plates collectively define one hundred seventy mating ends that are spaced along two rows that extend along a row direction, the one hundred seventy mating ends defining a 0.75 mm column pitch, and the connector housing supports each of the plurality of electrical signal contacts and the plurality of ground plates such that only two differential signal pairs are disposed between successive ground plates.