Patent attributes
Flexible printed circuit boards interconnect to adjacent electronic devices through one or more of high speed data, low speed data, high current, and ground lines and pads. The design of the high speed data pads and traces and adjacent ground pads and traces maintains a desired impedance in the flexible circuit and at the transition from the flexible circuit to a printed circuit board, a ceramic header, or other device to ensure high speed operation. The pads are preferably arranged in a two dimensional geometry such that a connecting area of the flexible circuit is narrower than it would preferably be if the pads were arranged linearly. The two dimensional array also allows the use of the high current thermoelectric cooler pads, which require large surface areas that may otherwise not fit in a conventional linear array.