Connection standard USB Type-C™ & USB 5/10/20/40/80 Gbps

Here you can learn about things good to know about the form factor USB Type-C™ in cooperation with the USB standards, and can discover a small selection of appropriate Delock products.

Content

The USB Type-C™ form factor

The USB Type-C™ male with its characteristic elliptic shape is already widespread used in the area of mobile devices. The user friendly 24 pin male enables the simultaneously transfer of current, data, video and audio signals in high quality.

Male and female of the both-sided usable USB Type-C™ form factor

Specifications & advantages of USB Type-C™

Protocol diversity

Beside the USB variants 1 to 3.2, also DisplayPort, PCI Express, Thunderbolt™, HDMI or MHL signals are compatible. Via a USB Type-C™ connection, the transfer of audio and video data is even possible parallel to the USB data and USB charging current. With appropriate converters, also a VGA monitor can be connected.

Supports 80 Gbps data transfer rate

USB Type-A males are constructed in a way to reach maximum 10 Gbps using these, which corresponds to the specification USB 10 Gbps. The maximum 80 Gbps of the new USB 80 Gbps protocol need the USB Type-C™ interface. - For the USB versions and data rates in an overview, see the table below.

User-friendliness

The USB Type-C™ male is twisting-safe constructed. It cannot be plugged into the female the wrong way round and it is therefore not necessary to distinguish between "top" and "bottom". Also with the cable USB Type-C™ to USB Type-C™ you do not have to pay attention to "start" or "end": It does not matter which end of the cable is connected to the host, which is connected to the device, since both connection ends are equivalent in their functionality.

The USB Type-C™ pin assignment shows the mirrored functions of the two pin lines and so the both-sided usability

Durability

The USB Type-C™ male is much more robust than its predecessor. According to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) the male is designed in a way that it withstands 10,000 mating cycles. That means, in terms of figure, a Smartphone could be charged once a day for 329 months (= plug in / pull out again), for example. Compared to these 10,000, for the USB 5 Gbps Type-A male a lifespan of up to 5,000 mating cycles is stated.

Slim and resistant design

The USB Type-C™ connector has a slim design similar to the Micro USB connector, but is robust enough to be completely suitable for use with laptops, tablets or other mobile devices. The USB Type-C™ male with its small measurements of only 8.4 x 2.6 mm is ideally suitable for slim smartphones as well as desktop PCs and entertainment electronics devices.

Compatibility

With USB Type-C™ connectors, connections can also be made to different USB devices (= non USB Type-C™ devices) by using adapters or cables. In this way, pre-existing hardware or peripheral devices can still be used.

Universal

Thanks to their functionalities, the USB Type-C™ interface will gain more and more importance. So already today and also in future at an increasing rate, fewer power adapters for connected devices are and will be needed. For example a laptop can be connected to a docking station that supplies the laptop and other devices with power.

Improved EMC

USB Type-C™ can reduce malfunctions of involved devices because the electromagnetic compability has been upgraded.

USB names, specifications and interfaces at a glance

On September 2, 2022, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) defined new names for the various versions of the USB standard. The reason given was the previous confusing naming schemes. The new syntax follows the "USB X Gbps" system, where the X stands for the maximum data transfer rate.

USB specifications and interfaces at a glance

USB 40 Gbps plus USB Type-C™ = The super-fast duo

Data transfer performance

The predecessor of USB 40 Gbps is USB 20 Gbps. Through this predecessor protocol, data rates of up to 20 Gbps can be reached. The subsequent, faster transmission mode is the USB 40 Gbps protocol. With it, you can achieve a data rate of up to 40 Gbps.

The USB Type-C™ male can be used for all USB connections, even for older USB devices and cables. To reach the highest possible data rate of 20 Gbps, please note that both connected devices must support the USB 40 Gbps protocol.

USB Power Delivery & charging function

Since USB 10 Gbps, the power supply specification called USB Power Delivery (shortened: USB PD) is supported. Thereby a maximum power consumption of 5 A and 20 V (100 watt) is possible. The power supply works in both directions. The revised standard USB PD 3.1 with Extended Power Range achieves already up to 240 watt at 5 A and 48 V.

How does it work? Power supply unit and end device negotiate the combination of voltage and current intensity and so the performance, that means they create a profile. The PSU offers the available combinations and the end device chooses an appropriate profile out of these. USB PD detects and takes notice of the charging direction of the devices connected to each other.

The topology of USB PD

Thanks to USB Type-C™ and USB PD, not only smartphones or tablets can be charged, but also larger or powerful devices such as monitors or laptops can be supplied with power. The prerequisite is USB PD support, for the device on the one hand and the cable on the other. For example, a monitor with USB Type-C™ connection and USB PD support which is connected to a power supply can charge a laptop while simultaneously transmitting signals from the laptop to the monitor.

The USB Type-C™ DisplayPort Alternate Mode

In addition to the USB data line, the USB Type-C™ connector of the laptop and other devices has another function. This function is called DisplayPort Alternate Mode (DP Alt Mode). It allows to connect a monitor adapter to the appropriate USB Type-C™ port of a device. In case this port supports the DP Alt Mode, the signal can be transmitted to the monitor via the adapter or cable.

Monitor diversity thanks to DP Alt Mode

If the device supports DP Alt Mode, appropriate USB Type-C™ to DisplayPort™, HDMI, DVI or VGA adapters can be used in order to connect corresponding monitors.

The relationship between USB Type-C™ and Thunderbolt™ 3

Basic idea of the USB Type-C™ interface is to transfer various kinds of data or signals via a single cable. The initially in 2009 by Intel and Apple introduced standard Thunderbolt™ was following the same purpose. Since middle of 2015, Thunderbolt™ 3 has also been using the USB Type-C™ connector, which can be used on both sides. Thunderbolt™ 3 is using the same male and female connector like USB Type-C™ and supports all USB Type-C™ functions. In addition, the Thunderbolt™ 3 controller has a USB 3.2 controller integrated.

Product examples by Delock

Item 80024
USB 20 Gbps Cable E-Marker DP Alt Mode

• Connectors: USB 20 Gbps USB-C™ male to male
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.0 up to 100 Watt
• Connectors with metal housing, cable with textile shielding, sturdy strain relief on both sides
• Cable length incl. connectors: ca. 1 m

Item 80099
USB 40 Gbps FPC Flat Ribbon Cable E-Marker

• Connectors: USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to male
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.0 up to 100 Watt
• Flexible Printed Circuit ribbon cable: flexible circuit board inside (instead of copper wires)
• Cable length incl. connectors: ca. 15 cm

Item 86979
USB4™ 40 Gbps Kabel koaxial

• Connectors: USB4™ 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to male
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.0 up to 100 Watt
• Supports DisplayPort 1.4a and DP Alt Mode
• For DP monitors up to 8K resolution
• Cable length incl. connectors: ca. 80 cm

Item 80009
USB4™ 40 Gbps Cable coaxial Extended Power Range

• Connectors: USB4™ 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to male
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.1 up to 240 Watt
• Supports DisplayPort 1.4a and DP Alt Mode
• For DP monitors up to 8K resolution
• Cable length incl. connectors: ca. 1.2 m

Item 90161
PCI Express x4 (2-Lane), V3.0 Card

• Connectors: external: 2 x USB 10 Gbps USB-C™ female - one of it DP Alt Mode capable, DisplayPort female (for DP Alt Mode function); internal: PCI Express x4
• enables video transmission on a monitor with USB-C™ connector, via USB-C™ port

Item 60289
USB Adapter 40 Gbps USB-C™ PD 3.1 8K metal

• Connectors: USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to 90° angled female
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.1 up to 240 Watt
• Supports DP Alt Mode
• Dimensions (LxWxH): ca. 2.0 x 1.3 x 0.8 cm

Item 60048
USB Adapter 40 Gbps USB-C™ PD 3.0 8K metal

• Connectors: USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to left / right rotated angled female
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.0 up to 100 watt
• Supports DP Alt Mode
• Dimensions (LxWxH): ca. 2.5 x 1.2 x 0.9 cm

Item 60055
Adapter USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ 2 x male / female metal

• Connectors: 2 x USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ male to female
• Supports USB Power Delivery 3.1 up to 240 watt
• Also suited as port saver to prevent the USB-C™ interface when used with high contact durability
• Dimensions (LxWxH): ca. 2.7 x 1.6 x 0.6 cm

Item 42018
USB4™ 40 Gbps Enclosure for M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD

• Connector external: USB4™ 40 Gbps USB-C™ female
• Connector internal: M.2 key M slot
• Robust metal housing with cooling fins
• Tool-free installation of the module
• With cable, thermal conductive pads, rubber nipples

Item 42029
USB-C™ 40 Gbps Enclosure for M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD

• Connector external: USB4™ 40 Gbps USB-C™ female
• Connector internal: M.2 key M slot
• Robust metal housing with cooling fins
• With cable, heat sink, thermal conductive pad, M.2 mounting material, etc.

Item 87865
USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ Docking Station 8K

• Connectors: USB 40 Gbps USB-C™ male, 2 x USB 10 Gbps Type-A female, USB 10 Gbps USB-C™ female, HDMI female, 2.5 Gigabit LAN RJ45 jack, USB-C™ PD female (power supply)
• small, sturdy, ideal for on the go

Item 87743
USB-C™ Docking Station 4K

• Connectors: USB 5 Gbps USB-C™ male, USB 5 Gbps Type-A female, 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A female, SD / SDHC / SDXC slot, Micro SD / SDHC / SDXC slot, HDMI-A female, USB 5 Gbps USB-C™ female (power supply)
• small, sturdy, ideal for on the go