Electrical connector with reduced crosstalk

Claim 1

In a multi-contact electrical connector comprising a pair of intermatable connector members, where each said connector member is adapted to be terminated to plural conductors, and each said commuter member comprises a housing formed of an insulative material and having a conductor receiving side and a mating side, a plurality of contact receiving cavities extending from said conductor receiving side to said mating side, said cavities being arranged in rows on spaced-apart parallel axes, where adjacent rows are separated by an insulative housing wall, and an array of electrical contact terminals mounted in said cavities, each of said contact terminals having contact means at its forward end proximate to said mating side and conductor terminating means proximate to said conductor receiving side, the improvement comprising in combination therewith the provision of incorporating an electronic device between the insulative housing wall and said contact terminals mounted within said cavities, said electronic device comprising a thin dielectric film having plural discrete electrically conductive traces along a first surface thereof, where said first surface is arranged adjacent said insulative housing wall, whereby selected pairs of said contact terminals are non-ohmically coupled together via said conductive traces to improve connector performance through capacitive coupling of energy between said selected pairs of said contact terminals.