__NOTOC__ Hirose U.FL, I-PEX MHF I, AMC or UMCC is a miniature

RF connector An RF connector (radio frequency connector) is an electrical connector designed to work at radio frequencies in the multi-megahertz range. RF connectors are typically used with coaxial cables and are designed to maintain the shielding that t ...

for high-frequency signals up to 6 GHz manufactured by

Hirose Electric Group is a Japanese company specializing in the manufacturing of electric connectors. The company was founded in 1937 as Hirose Manufacturing, changed its name to Hirose Electric in August 1963 and started selling internationally in 1968. Hirose al ...

, I-PEX, and others. U.FL connectors are commonly used in applications where space is of critical concern, such as in smartphones and laptop

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

cards. U.FL connectors are commonly used inside laptops and embedded systems to connect the Wi-Fi antenna to a

Mini PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) is a local computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer and is part of the PCI Local Bus standard. The PCI bus supports the functions found on a processor bus but in a standardized format ...

, Mini PCIe or

M.2 M.2 (pronounced "M-dot-2"), formerly known as the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), is a specification for internally mounted computer expansion cards and connectors. It was developed to replace the older Mini SATA (mSATA) and Mini PCIe ( m ...

Wi-Fi card. Another common use is connecting

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

antennas. Female U.FL connectors are not designed with reconnection in mind, and they are only rated for a few reconnects (approximately 30 mating cycles) before replacement is needed. The female U.FL connectors are generally not sold separately, but rather as part of a

pigtail A woman with long pigtails and braids. In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...

with a high-quality 1.32 mm doubly

shielded cable A shielded cable or screened cable is an electrical cable that has a common conductive layer around its conductors for electromagnetic shielding. This shield is usually covered by an outermost layer of the cable. Common types of cable shiel ...

, which allows for a low-loss connection, insulated with

fluorinated In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction which introduces one or more halogens into a chemical compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, drugs. ...

resin. The male connectors are surface-mounted (SMT) and soldered directly to the

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...

(PCB). They are designed to have a

characteristic impedance The characteristic impedance or surge impedance (usually written Z0) of a uniform transmission line is the ratio of the amplitudes of voltage and current of a wave travelling in one direction along the line in the absence of reflections in th ...

of 50 ohms. The mated connection is only 2.5 mm high and takes as little as 9 mm² (3.0 × 3.1 mm) of board space. Much like many other electronic components, Hirose U.FL connectors were protected by patentsSurface-mounted, high-frequency coaxial connector.
US Patent 5180315 (1993) and trademarks. However, compatible third party connectors are available under many other names, such as Sunridge MCB.

Hirose W.FL

The Hirose W.FL, also known as Amphenol AMMC, is an ultra-small

used in handheld electronic products. It is manufactured by

and has a frequency range up to 6 GHz. W.FL occupies even less area (2.0 mm diameter) and height (1.4 mm) than U.FL. Like U.FL, W.FL also has many more names assigned to it by those producing compatible connectors.

Variants

Many confusingly-similar looking connectors are called U.FL. The same or compatible connectors can also confusingly have multiple names, coming from different vendors or being transcribed differently. * H.FL ** older, bigger, footprint 5x4.5 mm, square area 4.5x4 mm, male outer diameter 2.4 mm, center pin diameter 0.5 mm, mated height 3.0 mm ** up to 3 GHz, cable groups 1.32/1.37/1.48 mm and RG178 * E.FL ** older, bigger, footprint 3.4x3.4 mm, square area 2.8x2.8 mm, male outer diameter 2.0 mm, center pin diameter 0.5 mm, mated height 3.0 mm ** up to 2 GHz, cable groups 0.81/1.32 mm * U.FL, I-PEX MHF I, IPEX1, IPX1, MHF, MHF I, MHF1, AMC, MCRF, GS, TXR, UM, UMC, UMCX, ultra-miniature coaxial: ** footprint 3.0x3.1 mm, square area 2.6x2.6 mm, male outer diameter 2.0 mm, center pin diameter 0.5 mm, mated height 2.4 mm (2.5 mm max) or 1.9 mm (2.5 mm max) for U.FL-LP(V) ** most common ** up to 6 GHz, cable groups 0.81/1.13/1.32/1.37 mm (LP(V) only 0.81 mm), MHF1 also RG174 and RG178 ** MHF 1 LK with a slide-over mechanical lock ** N.FL variant with reduced mating height (1.4 mm (1.5 mm max), barrel portion height 0.25mm, total male connector height off board 0.8 mm), 6 GHz, cable group 0.81 mm * IPEX2, IPX2 ** lower mated height than IPEX1, otherwise somewhat similar ** very rare * IPEX3, IPX3, MHF III, MHF3: ** footprint 2.00x2.05 mm, square area 1.7x1.7 mm, male outer diameter 1.40 mm, center pin diameter 0.40 mm ** some sources claim compatibility with W.FL (dubious?) * W.FL, IPEX4, IPX4, MHF IV, MHF4, MHF4/4L, AMC4, HSC, MXHP32: ** footprint 2.0x2.0 mm, square area 1.76x1.68 mm, male outer diameter 1.5 mm, center pin diameter 0.45 mm, mated height 1.2 mm (1.4 and 1.7 mm for thicker cables) ** increasingly common, especially with 5GHz devices and 5G ** up to 6 or 9 GHz, cable group 0.81 mm, MHF4L also 0.64, 0.95, 1.13 and 1.37 mm ** MHF4L up to 12 GHz, or to 9 GHz when mated with MHF4 female **

standard (MHF4L) ** W.FL2 variant with mated height 1.2 mm ** MHF 4 LK with a slide-over mechanical lock ** may be slight difference between MHF4 and W.FL, MHF4(L) said to be compatible * X.FL, IPEX5, IPX5, MHF5, MHF5L: ** footprint 2x2 mm, square area 1.7x1.7 mm, male outer diameter 1.40 mm, mated height max. 1 mm (MHF5) or 1.3mm (MHF5L) ** up to 12 GHz, MHF 5L up to 15 GHz; cable groups 0.5/0.64/0.81/1.13 mm ** incompatible with W.FL/W.FL2 * MHF7 * MHF7S ** footprint 2x2 mm, square area 2.0x2.0 mm, male outer diameter 1.5 mm, center pin diameter 0.35 mm, mated height 1.4 mm max, male total height from board 0.53 mm ** up to 15 GHz,https://www.i-pex.com/product/rf full EMI shield, for 5G

mmWave Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It is in the microwave part of the radio spectrum, between t ...

applications Other similar connectors with male on board: JSC, KSC, LSC, MHF-A, OSMT (dissimilar) With female on board: MHF-SW23, MMS, MMT, MS-156C, MS-162, MS-166, MS-180, SWD, SWF, SWG, SWH, SWJ

Notes

References

External links

U.FL Series

SMT Ultra-Miniature Coaxial Connectors

UMCC — Ultraminiature Coax Connector and Cable Assembly Series

Official website
{{RF Connectors Navbox RF connectors