In recent years, high vacuum (HV) and ultra-high vacuum (UHV) manufacturing have become more widely adopted and advanced. This is partially due to the ease of access to functional HV/UHV components for advanced vacuum procedures.
Allectra manufactures, designs, and develops critical components for various sectors in the market, from nuclear fusion research to cryogenics. Within these is a proprietary collection of Sub-D feedthroughs.
Image Credit: Allectra Limited
What are Sub-D Feedthroughs?
ITT Canon designed D-sub-miniature connectors in the early 1950s as an innovative solution for peripheral computing connections. They were quickly deployed in industrial applications and are now used in telecommunications, consumer electronics, and even military apparatus.
The name originates from the design of the housing, which contains the pin connectors. The same tried-and-tested construction is used for Sub-D feedthroughs in vacuum applications.
Sub-D Feedthrough Configurations
Sub-D connections and feedthroughs are regulated by three main international standards: IEC807-2, MIL C-24308, and DIN 41652. All vacuum connection parts from Allectra are certified to the required degree of compliance, whether for use on the air-side or vacuum-side. These are supplied in a range of configurations, including:
- Standard Sub-D Feedthroughs: Miniature connectors housed in a type 316L stainless steel flange, with 9 to 50 gold-plated nickel (NiFe) alloy pins with a continuous use rating of 3A per pin. Several Sub-D connectors can be installed on one flange, with tailored housings reaching up to a 160CF flange.
- High Current Sub-D Feedthroughs: Allectra HC Sub-D feedthroughs can enable high power signal connections through the use of a gold-plated proprietary alloy, with a peak use (<5 minutes) of 10A per pin and rated for continuous currents of 6A per pin.
- High-Density Sub-D Feedthroughs: High-density connectors can be engineered with extensively more pins-per-housing by decreasing the diameter of the pins. As many as 26 high-density pins can be contained within standard 15 pin Sub-D housings, while 78 HD pins can be contained within standard 50 pin Sub-D housings.
- Mixed Sub-D: Power and coaxial Sub-D feedthroughs are engineered for specific signal requirements that cannot be achieved by a regular Sub-D design, such as for floating shield coax versions or 20A per pin.
Custom Sub-D Feedthroughs from Allectra
Allectra understands that no two vacuum applications are the same. The specific objectives and requirements of each particular customer are taken into account to ensure that the Sub-D feedthrough is ideal for the application.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Allectra Limited.
For more information on this source, please visit Allectra Limited.