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An electrical interconnection system with high speed, differential electrical connectors. The connectors are formed with columns of conductive elements, some of which carry signals some of which act as ground conductors. The conductive elements may contain projections to secure the conductive elemen

An electrical interconnection system with high speed, differential electrical connectors. The connectors are formed with columns of conductive elements, some of which carry signals some of which act as ground conductors. The conductive elements may contain projections to secure the conductive elements in a housing or to facilitate desirable current flow patterns. To avoid impedance discontinuities caused by the projections, adjacent conductive elements may be formed with complementary portions to provide a relatively uniform edge-to-edge spacing between signal and ground conductors along the length of the signal conductor. To manufacture such a connector in which both the signal and the ground conductive elements contain projections, the conductive elements carrying signals may be inserted into a housing from one side and the conductive elements acting as ground conductors may be inserted from an opposite side.

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What is claimed is: 1. An electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column, the plurality of conductive elements comprising: a) a first conductor, the first conductor having a first width along a first line in a plane through the column and a second width alon

What is claimed is: 1. An electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column, the plurality of conductive elements comprising: a) a first conductor, the first conductor having a first width along a first line in a plane through the column and a second width along a second line in the plane, the second width being greater than the first width; and b) a second conductor, the second conductor being disposed adjacent the first conductor and having a third width along the first line and a fourth width along the second line, the third width being greater than the fourth width. 2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the center to center spacing between the first conductor and the second conductor is the same along the first line and the second line. 3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the third width is greater than the first width. 4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the second conductor is a ground conductor and the first conductor is a signal conductor. 5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: i) the connector comprises a housing; ii) each of the plurality of conductive elements has a portion disposed within the housing; and iii) the first line is within the housing and the second line is outside the housing. 6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the plurality of conductive elements and the housing comprise a first wafer in a daughter card connector. 7. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of conductive elements comprises a mating contact portion extending from the housing and the second line is positioned adjacent the mating contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements. 8. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: i) the connector comprises a housing; ii) each of the plurality of conductive elements has a portion disposed within the housing; and iii) the first line is outside the housing and the second line is within the housing. 9. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein the plurality of conductive elements and the housing comprise a backplane connector. 10. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: i) the connector comprises a housing; ii) each of the plurality of conductive elements has a portion disposed within the housing; and iii) a portion of the first conductor of the second width along the second line comprises a retention features for securing the first conductor in the housing. 11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the second conductor further comprises a contact tail extending from a portion of the third width. 12. The electrical connector of claim 1, comprising a plurality of parallel columns comprising the column and a plurality of additional columns parallel to the column, each of the parallel columns comprising: a) a plurality of first type conductors, each first type conductor having the first width along a line parallel to the first line and a second width along a line parallel to the second line; and b) a plurality of second type conductors, each second type conductor adjacent a first type conductor, and each second type conductor having the third width along the line parallel to the first line and the fourth width long the line parallel to the second line. 13. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: the connector further comprises an insulative housing; the first conductor has a first segment with a first edge having a projection along the second line and each of the second conductors has a second segment with a second edge having a projection along the third line; and the first conductor and the second conductor are inserted into the insulative housing with the first edge of the first conductor facing a second edge of the second conductor. 14. The electrical connector of claim 13, wherein the first conductor is inserted into the housing with the projection of the first conductor engaging the housing. 15. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein: the connector further comprises a housing; first conductor has a first segment with a first edge having a projection; the second conductor has a second edge with a second segment, the second segment having a relieved portion complementary to the projection of the first conductor; and the first conductor and the second conductors are inserted in the housing such that the first edge of the first conductor is adjacent the second edge of the second conductor and the first segment is aligned with the second segment. 16. The electrical connector of claim 15, wherein the housing comprises a backplane shroud having opposing side walls and each of the first conductor and the second conductor comprises a blade-shaped mating contact portion and the first conductor and the second conductor are inserted in the housing with the blade-shaped mating contact portions of the first conductor and the second conductor positioned between the opposing side walls. 17. An electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column, the plurality of conductive elements comprising: a) a first conductor, the first conductor having a first segment with a first edge having a projecting portion; and b) a second conductor, the second conductor having a second edge, the second conductor being positioned with the second edge adjacent the first edge, the second edge having a second segment complimentary to the projecting portion of the first conductor, the second segment being aligned with the projecting portion along a line parallel to the column. 18. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein: i) the second conductor comprises a third segment along the second edge, the third segment having a second projecting portion; and ii) the first conductor comprises a fourth segment along the first edge, the fourth segment complementary to the second projecting portion. 19. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein the projecting portion of the first conductor comprises a transition between an intermediate portion of the first conductor and a beam forming a mating contact portion of the first conductor. 20. The electrical connector of claim 17, wherein the first conductor comprises a press-fit contact tail extending from the projecting portion. 21. The electrical connector of claim 17, comprising a plurality of parallel columns, the plurality comprising the column and a plurality of additional columns parallel to the column, each of the additional parallel columns comprising: a) a plurality of first type conductors, each of the plurality of first type conductors having a first segment with a first edge having a projecting portion; and b) a plurality of second type conductors, each of the plurality of second type conductors having a second edge adjacent a first edge of a first type conductor, each second edge having a second segment aligned with and complementary to the projecting portion of the first type conductor. 22. The electrical connector of claim 21, wherein the first type conductors comprise ground conductors and the second type conductors comprise signal conductors, the plurality of second type conductors being adapted and configured to provide a plurality of differential pairs, and the first segments and the second segments are adapted and configured to equalize signal to ground spacing over the length of the differential pairs. 23. A method of manufacturing an electrical connector having a housing and a plurality of first conductors and a plurality of second conductors, the method comprising: a) inserting the first conductors into a housing from a first direction; and b) inserting the second conductors in the housing from a second direction, opposite the first direction, wherein: i) each of the plurality of first conductors has a first segment with a first edge having a projection; ii) each of the plurality of second conductors has a second edge with a second segment, the second segment having a relieved portion complementary to a projection of a first conductor; iii) inserting the first conductors and the second conductors comprises inserting the first conductors and the second conductors with a first edge of a first conductor adjacent a second edge of a second conductor until the first segment is aligned with the second segment; iv) the housing comprises a backplane shroud having opposing side walls; v) each of the first conductors and the second conductors comprises a blade-shaped mating contact portion; and vi) inserting the first conductors and inserting the second conductors comprises inserting the first conductors and the second conductors until the blade-shaped mating contact portions of the first conductors and the second conductors are positioned between the opposing side walls.