The newly released USB 4 connector specification is primarily used for high-speed interconnected automation systems to transfer high-speed data. But USB3.2 products will first appear on the market.

 

 

 

The USB 3.2 connector will begin to appear in a variety of devices in the coming months. The latest USB standard announced at the end of 2017 has not yet had time to make its debut. Suddenly, USB 3.2 is no longer the latest USB standard. USB 4 turned out. In March 2019, the USB Promotion Group announced that the USB 4 specification will be released in mid-2019. However, it will take at least a year for us to see it appear on the device. Prior to this, USB 3.2 will be the latest version available.

USB 3.2 is actually a general term for several different specifications. USB3.2 Gen1 (or SuperSpeed ​​USB); the previous version of USB3.0 has a speed of 5GB/s; USB3.2Gen 2 (or SuperSpeed ​​USB 10 Gb/s) has a single channel speed of 10 Gb/s. The latest version of USB 3.2 (SuperSpeed ​​USB 20 Gb/s) has two 10 Gb/s channels with a maximum speed of 20 Gb/s. It is also known as USB3.2Gen 2×2. The USB3.2GEN 2×2 uses a Type-C connector.

 

 

 

The various USB protocols and their respective representative performance levels, names, and technical specifications for developers are listed in the following table:

In order to ensure compatibility between devices and achieve the expected speed and performance, the key is to use the USB3.2 specification for communication devices. In addition, in order to support a specific USB standard, the appropriate ports and cables must be specified, otherwise the connector can only support lower bandwidth.

Need to be clear, USB promotion including Apple, Intel, Renesas, ST MicroElectronics, HP, Microsoft and Texas Instruments The team developed a 40Gb/s USB specification that will support data transfer and host-based algorithms, making it a high-performance connector for devices connected to the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Like USB 3.2, it will use a Type-C connector with a high-speed cable and is compatible with all previous USB versions.

 

 

 

Another feature of USB4 is the inclusion of Intel's Thunderbolt 3 standard, which enables USB-connected devices to communicate with each other without going through a hub. This makes usb 4 a way to connect multiple high-speed devices together, enabling them to share data quickly. We will see such hardware coming to market at the end of 2020 or early 2021. At the same time, this makes USB3.2 a popular new USB connector, but it is estimated that this time will not be very long.

Mr. Jeff Ravencraft (President and Chief Operating Officer of USB-IF Organization)

To this end, we spoke with Jeff Ravencraft, president and chief operating officer of the USB-IF Association, to learn about the latest two USB connectors.

USB3.2 is still being implemented. Should designers bypass this specification and switch to USB 4?

The decision about which USB specification to implement depends entirely on the manufacturer and on the functionality required for the product being developed. That is to say, the USB 4 specification will be compatible with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0, etc., so vendors developing products based on these existing USB protocols can know whether their solutions conform to future USB specifications. Compatibility is one of the important factors in the promotion of USB products.

Under what circumstances, may they choose USB 3.2 instead of USB 4?

Developers can choose USB 3.2 instead of USB 4 without the need for 40 Gb/s speed, multiple data transfers and existing specifications to meet the requirements and the need to be compatible with ThunderBolt 3.0. For example, apps for mobile phones and tablets, etc.

What is the impact of other legacy USB specifications that are still in use?

USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 will continue to be widely used specifications for developers to design products as needed. As mentioned above, the USB 4 specification is compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 3.2.

What impact does this have on the Internet of Things or artificial intelligence?

The higher data transfer performance provided by the USB 4 specification will continue to improve IoT devices and artificial intelligence/machine learning applications, as both technologies benefit from being able to transmit and receive more and more at an extremely fast rate. The development of connectors for data, video and graphics.

Will USB 4 have a standard mark on the housing or a new design?

The USB 4 release is part of the USB performance roadmap and is currently targeted at developers. Brand and marketing guidelines will be established after the final specification is announced. That is, the USB 4 implementation will require a USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C specification can be downloaded from the USB-IF documentation library.

What does the cable used with USB 4 mean?

Although the USB 4 specification is still in the draft stage, the specification will not specify cable lengths, but rather specify cable performance requirements. Cable manufacturers will strive to manufacture the longest cables to prove that they can manufacture a variety of required cables. .

What should designers know about the performance or architecture of this new specification?

To take full advantage of the USB 4 at 40 Gb/s, users will need a 40 Gb/s certified USB Type-C cable. Existing certified 10 Gb/s and 20 Gb/s cables will support 10 Gb/s and 20 Gb/s USB 4 respectively. In addition, USB 4 defines a new USB architecture for simultaneously transmitting multiple independent legacy data streams and converge on the USB 4 bus. The new protocol enables the USB 4 host system to optimally balance bus bandwidth between these data streams, best matching the performance of each connected device, such as storage, networking, and more.

Which connector companies are involved in the USB 4 development process?

The USB 4 specification is a protocol specification and is therefore separate from the USB Type-C specification that defines USBType-C cables and connectors. In other words, USB 4 implementation requires USB Type-C, and multi-faceted connector companies are actively involved in the development of the USB 4 specification. A detailed list of contributing companies will be posted after the finalization of the USB 4 specification document. USB-IF is a champion of open standards. Like all USB specifications, the USB 4 specification will be available to everyone around the world once it is released.