The TE Connectivity 5145300-3 is a surface-mount, right-angle smart card connector with 10 positions arranged as 8 signal contacts plus 2 switch contacts. The integrated switch detects card insertion without requiring a separate sensor — the switch contacts close when a card is fully seated. A built-in board guide aligns the card during insertion, and the push-in, pull-out insertion method matches the standard ISO 7816 smart card form factor. The 0.144" (3.66mm) height above board keeps the profile low enough for compact reader enclosures.
Surface-mount, right-angle orientation means the connector sits flat on the PCB with the card slot parallel to the board. The board guide takes the mechanical alignment load during card insertion, protecting the SMT solder joints from shear stress. The 10-position layout uses 8 contacts for the card's data and power lines plus 2 dedicated switch contacts — the switch circuit is independent of the signal path, so it can be wired as a card-present interrupt without loading the data lines.
Gold contact finish at 50.0µin (1.27µm) is a heavy plating grade — well above the 15-30µin flash typical of low-cycle connectors. This thickness supports the thousands of insertion/removal cycles a smart card reader sees over its service life. The gold-on-gold mating interface resists corrosion and maintains stable contact resistance through repeated wipes, which matters for the low-voltage logic signals smart cards use.