OFweek Electronic Engineering Network News: There are many interface standards, such as HDMI, PCIe, VGA, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, and USB, etc. Among them, we are most familiar with USB, the most used is USB2.0 standard and Type-A interface. Although the USB3.0 and USB3.1 standards have been introduced for many years, the market acceptance has not been high.

On the contrary, the USB Type-C interface has been widely welcomed by the market. Recently, a number of products using the USB Type-C interface have been released, such as the 2015 version of the MacBook, the latest ChomeBook Pixel, and Nokia. Tablet N1, LeTV mobile phone and one plus mobile phone 2.

Type-C advantage

Why Type-C is so popular is closely related to its characteristics. It can perform high-speed data transmission, power charging and video data transmission with all-in-one function. And Type-C offers a small, "flip-out" connector with a better user experience and a two-way cable.

"The previous USB interface was square, but the new Type-C interface was round, the exterior became smoother, simpler and cleaner." USB Implementer Forum (USB-IF) Chairman Brad Saunders introduced the advantages of the Type-C interface. The time says, "It's also more convenient to use. You can insert it in the forward direction or you can insert it backwards. When inserting, you can hear a 'click' sound, which means there is no problem with access."

He also introduced that Type-C can support power transmission from 4.5W up to 100W.

Figure 1: USB Type-C cable and connector.

In order to enable Type-C to implement forward and reverse insertion, USB-IF has made special provisions to increase the number of Type-C pins to 24. Among the 24 pins, the interfaces on the upper and lower sides are the same. As you can see from Figure 2, there is a CC pin for detecting forward and backward insertion, and distinguishing whether to transmit data, transmit power, or transmit video data.

Figure 2: USB Type-C features and pin descriptions.

Of course, Type-C is just an interface that supports both USB 3.1, 3.0, and 2.0 standards. The maximum speed that can currently be supported is 10Gbps, and 20Gbps will be supported in the future. Therefore, using the Type-C interface does not mean that your transmission speed is 10Gbps, and it may be 480Mbps supported by USB2.0. To achieve the highest transmission speed is also related to the selected cable, "If you use the USB2.0 standard, the cable is generally up to 5m. If you use USB3.0, to achieve 10Gbps speed, the USB cable can't be longer than 3m." USB- IF Chief Technology Officer Rahman Ismail explained.

Figure 3: Roland Sperlich, High Speed Interface Manager, Texas Instruments High Performance Analog Products.

If you want to transmit at a higher transmission speed at a higher transmission speed, you can use an active cable solution. Roland Sperlich, manager of high-speed interface for high-performance analog products from Texas Instruments, recommends. He is responsible for the development of high-speed signal conditioning products at speeds in excess of 10 Gbps, including TI's USB products.