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Applications & Technologies
Overview

USB has gained international adoption for battery charging, especially for mobile electronic devices. Standardization on USB for charging devices was driven primarily as a means to reduce electronic waste by eliminating the need for a separate proprietary charger for each electronic device.

New USB technology specifications provide for USB solutions that promise to reduce clutter, provide unprecedented inter-operability, simplify connecting USB devices with reversible and "flippable" plugs and cables, and provide much faster charging.

Rev Speed Name Formerly
1 1.5 Mbps Low Speed (LS)
1.1 12 Mbps Full Speed (FS)
2 480 Mbps High Speed (HS)
3.1 Gen 1 5 Gbps SuperSpeed USB (SS) USB 3.0
3.1 Gen 2 10 Gbps SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps SuperSpeed+

These improvements are specified in the USB Type-C™ and USB Power Delivery (PD) specifications that are compatible with USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1 specifications, cables and connectors in various ways. Ultimately, the best USB solution will be a Type-C connector running at USB 3.1 data rates with USB power delivery at up to 100 watts.

Connectors:

Standard Type-A, Type-B and Micro-AB connectors are the current USB-IF standards, but they have limitations:

  • They use large connectors that prevent slim industrial designs (plug height: A = 4.5 mm; B = 10.4 mm).
  • They require a fixed-plug orientation and a fixed-cable direction.
  • They carry only USB signals and VBUS (= 5 V only).
  • Power delivery implementation is complicated, expensive, and limited to 7.5 W.
Type-C™

USB Type-C™ is the latest USB-IF standard that offers one new reversible connector to fit nearly every purpose. USB Type-C (USB-C™) is not the same as USB 3.1; USB-C is a connector standard. A USB-C cable could have USB 2.0, USB 3.1, and may or may not include charging capability of up to 100W, which is defined in the USB-Power Deliver (USB-) PD standard.

Since USB Type-C is not physically backwards compatible (even though the intrinsic USB technology is), adapters will be required if a Type-C device is used with any of the older USB Type-A or Type-B connections. USB Type-C is also technologically compatible with Display Port, HDMI, VGA, MHL, and Thunderbolt 3 (per the Alternate Mode section of the USB-PD spec). Since Type-C cable assemblies are active, not passive (i.e., they are "smart"), there are some design considerations for USB-Type-C concerning connectors.

USB Overview

» View Connectors for USB Type-C

» View Configuration Channel Controllers for USB Type-C

» View Cable Assemblies for USB Type-C

Power Delivery

The new USB Power Delivery standard, used in electronic devices and cables, promises to reduce clutter, provide unprecedented inter-operability, simplify docking, and provide much faster charging.

USB has gained international adoption for battery charging, especially for mobile electronic devices. Standardization on USB for charging devices was driven primarily as a means to reduce electronic waste by eliminating the need for a separate proprietary charger for each electronic device. The USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) specification was written to further reduce cable clutter through power sharing and can accommodate powering devices up to 100 watts, yet is designed to co-exist with standard USB Battery Charging implementations.

USB-PD provides directional control in powering devices and power level management. In conjunction with the other USB standards, consumers will only notice that interoperability is greatly enhanced with a single cable that can both provide power and data. Even better, if two USB-PD compatible devices are connected and one loses power, the other device will pick up the duty of powering its USB-mates automatically. For example, if a battery-powered Chromebook and a monitor (both USB-PD devices) are connected and the Chromebook battery goes dead, the monitor (if powered) will notice the Chromebook’s flagging power and swap roles to become the provider of power. The monitor will pick up on powering the Chromebook, automatically, within milliseconds.

» View Controllers for USB-PD

» View Power Switches for USB-PD

USB SuperSpeed (USB 3.1 Gen 1, formerly USB 3.0)

USB seems to be the world’s choice of connectivity for PC, electronics, and mobile products. It is a fast, low-cost, bidirectional, user-friendly and dynamically "hot swap" attachable interface that works well with PC platforms of today and hopefully, for tomorrow. SuperSpeed USB brought significant performance enhancements to the USB standard, yet remiained compatible with billions of existing USB devices. SuperSpeed USB delivers 5Gbps, up to 10 times the data transfer rate of Hi-Speed USB (480Mbps), and brings improved power efficiency to the market.

SuperSpeed USB:

  • Is a "Sync-N-Go" technology that minimizes the time that users must wait.
  • Optimizes power efficiency by removing device polling and allowing lower power requirements.

SuperSpeed USB is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 products and platforms. SuperSpeed hosts support USB 2.0 "legacy" devices.

Low Power Analog

» View Host Controllers for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Hub Controllers for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Peripheral Controllers for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Connectors for USB USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Transcievers (PHY) for USB 3.1 Gen 1


Low Power Analog

» View Redrivers for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Bridges for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Cable Assemblies for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Circuit Protection for USB 3.1 Gen 1

» View Switches for USB 3.1 Gen 1

SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (USB 3.1 Gen 2)

SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (USB 3.1 Gen 2) delivers data at 10Gbps, which is twice the speed of the USB 3.1 Gen 1 (formerly known as USB 3.0) SuperSpeed rate of 5 Gbps data rate. USB 3.1 Gen 2 defines a more efficient means of data encoding to deliver more than twice the effective data through-put of existing SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.1 Gen 1) over enhanced, fully backward-compatible USB connectors and cables. The USB 3.1 specification extends existing SuperSpeed electrical, mechanical, protocol and hub definitions while retaining compatibility with existing USB 3.1 Gen1 (USB 3.0) protocols, existing 5Gbps hubs and devices, and USB 2.0 devices.

The USB 3.1 Gen 2 specification delivers USB SuperSpeed 10 Gbps, but is not USB Type-C™, USB Power Delivery, or USB Battery Charging. The latter are different specifications, independent of what is defined in USB 3.1 Gen 2.

» View Devices for USB 3.1 Gen 2

» View Connectors for USB 3.1 Gen 2

» View Cable Assemblies for USB 3.1 Gen 2


 
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