Electrical device having an insulator wafer

1. An electrical device comprising:

a substrate having a signal contact and a ground contact along a surface of the substrate;

an insulator wafer having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening, the front surface facing the signal contact, the insulator wafer also having an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein the insulator wafer is disposed inside the electrical device between the substrate and a ground bus bar; and

a communication cable including a signal conductor, an insulator surrounding the signal conductor, and a shield layer that surrounds the insulator, wherein the upper edge of the insulator wafer is substantially planar with the shield layer of the communication cable; wherein the insulator has a terminating end and the shield layer has a terminating end substantially coplanar with the terminating end of the insulator, a terminating end of the signal conductor extending beyond the terminating end of the insulator; wherein the terminating end of the signal conductor projects through the opening of the insulator wafer to electrically couple with the signal contact, the insulator wafer electrically isolating the shield layer from the signal contact;

wherein the front surface of the insulator wafer pressingly seats against the signal contact.

2. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the insulator wafer physically blocks the shield layer from touching the signal conductor and the signal contact.

3. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the insulator wafer has a predetermined thickness to control an impedance profile of the electrical device in a gap between the terminating end of the shield layer and the ground contact.

4. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the rear surface of the insulator wafer pressingly seats against at least one of the terminating ends of the shield layer and the insulator.

5. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the opening of the insulator wafer is a generally U-shaped slot extending inwardly from an edge of the insulator wafer to receive the signal conductor from the edge of the insulator wafer.

6. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the opening of the insulator wafer is an enclosed slot, the opening being in alignment with the signal conductor to receive the signal conductor through the slot.

7. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the insulator wafer extends along a wafer plane perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.

8. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the opening of the insulator wafer is aligned with the signal contact.

9. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the communication cable has a drain wire electrically coupled with the shield layer, the drain wire being electrically connected to the ground contact.

10. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a printed substrate.

11. The electrical device of claim 9 , wherein the ground bus bar is electrically coupled to the ground contact, the ground bus bar having a main panel laying across the communication cable and a connective terminal extending from the main panel being electrically coupled to the drain wire.

12. The electrical device of claim 1 , wherein the communication cable comprises a second signal conductor, a second insulator surrounding the second signal conductor, and a second shield layer that surrounds the second insulator; wherein the second insulator and the second shield layer have substantially coplanar terminating ends, a terminating end of the second signal conductor extends beyond the terminating end of the second insulator; wherein the terminating end of the second signal conductor projects through a corresponding opening of the insulator wafer to electrically couple with a second signal contact of the substrate, the insulator wafer electrically isolating the second shield layer from the second signal conductor and the second signal contact.

13. The electrical device of claim 1 , further comprising a second communication cable comprising a second signal conductor, a second insulator surrounding the second signal conductor, and a second shield layer that surrounds the second insulator; wherein the second insulator and the second shield layer have substantially coplanar terminating ends, a terminating end of the second signal conductor extends beyond the terminating end of the second insulator; wherein the terminating end of the second signal conductor projects through a corresponding opening of the insulator wafer to electrically couple with the second signal contact, the insulator wafer electrically isolating the second shield layer from the second signal conductor and the second signal contact.

14. An electrical device, comprising:

a substrate having an upper signal contact and an upper ground contact along an upper surface of the substrate and a lower signal contact and a lower ground contact along a lower surface of the substrate;

an upper insulator wafer having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening, the front surface facing the upper signal contact on the upper surface of the substrate;

an upper communication cable including a signal conductor, an insulator surrounding the signal conductor, and a shield layer that surrounds the insulator; wherein the insulator and the shield layer have substantially coplanar terminating ends, and a terminating end of the signal conductor extends beyond a terminating end of the insulator; wherein the terminating end of the signal conductor projects through the opening of the upper insulator wafer to electrically couple with the upper signal contact, the upper insulator wafer electrically isolating the shield layer from the upper signal contact, wherein the front surface of the upper insulator wafer pressingly seats against the upper signal contact;

a lower insulator wafer having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening, the front surface facing the lower signal contact on the lower surface of the substrate;

a lower communication cable including a signal conductor, an insulator surrounding the signal conductor, and a shield layer that surrounds the insulator; wherein the insulator and the shield layer have substantially coplanar terminating ends, and a terminating end of the signal conductor extends beyond a terminating end of the insulator; wherein the terminating end of the signal conductor projects through the opening of the lower insulator wafer to electrically couple with the lower signal contact, the lower insulator wafer electrically isolating the shield layer from the lower signal contact, wherein the front surface of the lower insulator wafer pressingly seats against the lower signal contact.

15. The electrical device of claim 14 , wherein the upper insulator wafer physically blocks the shield layer from touching the upper signal conductor and the upper signal contact.

16. The electrical device of claim 14 , wherein the upper insulator wafer has a predetermined thickness to control to an impedance profile of the electrical device in a gap between the terminating end of the shield layer and the upper ground contact.

17. An electrical device comprising:

a substrate having signal contacts and ground contacts along a surface of the substrate;

a plurality of communication cables, each communication cable including a signal conductor, an insulator surrounding the signal conductor, and a shield layer that surrounds the insulator; wherein the insulator has a terminating end and the shield layer has a terminating end substantially coplanar with the terminating end of the insulator, a terminating end of the signal conductor extending beyond the terminating end of the insulator, wherein at least one of the communication cables including a drain wire electrically coupled with the shield layer, the drain wire being electrically coupled to at least one of the ground contacts;

an insulator wafer having a front surface, a rear surface, and a plurality of openings, the insulator wafer being interposed between the terminating ends of the communication cable and the signal contacts; and

a ground bus bar electrically coupled to the ground contacts, the ground bus bar having a main panel laying across the communication cable and a connective terminal extending from the main panel being electrically coupled to the drain wire, wherein the insulator wafer is disposed between the substrate and the ground bus bar,

wherein the terminating ends of the signal conductors project through corresponding openings of the insulator wafer to electrically couple with corresponding signal contacts, the insulator wafer electrically isolating the shield layers from the signal contacts;

wherein the front surface of the insulator wafer faces the signal contacts, and the rear surface of the insulator wafer faces the shield layers of the communication cables, the signal conductors projecting through the corresponding openings of the insulator wafer to electrically couple with the signal contacts; and

wherein the front surface of the insulator wafer pressingly seats against the signal contacts.

18. The electrical device of claim 17 , wherein the insulator wafer physically blocks the shield layers from the signal conductors and the signal contacts.

19. The electrical device of claim 17 , wherein the openings of the insulator wafer are spaced apart to control positions of the terminating ends of the signal conductors to align the signal conductors with the signal contacts.