1. THUNDERBOLT
I/O INTERFACE
B.Tech Colloquium Presentation
by
Raghav Aggarwal
School of Electronics and communication
Engineering
SMVDU, Katra , Jammu & Kashmir

2. THUNDERBOLT I/O INTERFACE
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3. Brief View
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What Is Thunderbolt?
Key Features Of Thunderbolt
General Specifications
Connector Pin Diagram
Copper vs. Optical
Protocol Architecture
Controller Architecture
Early Versions of Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt vs. other existing I/O interfaces
Future-Thunderbolt 2
Conclusion
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4. What is Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt Technology is a transformational
high speed, dual core protocol I/O protocol which
provides unmatched excellent performance over
current I/O technologies which are available in
the market with 10Gbps bi-directional transfer
speed. It provides flexibility and simplicity by
supporting both data and video on a single cable
connection that can daisy-chain up to six devices
With this Thunderbolt technology it is
now possible to enable the thinnest and
lightest laptops can connected over a
single cable to high performance storage,
external media drives, multiple HD
displays, HD media and editing systems
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Raghav Aggarwal as well as legacy I/O hubs and devices

5. DEVELOPED BY INTEL &
COMMERICALISED BY APPLE
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6. Key Features
• 10Gbps bi-directional, dual channel data transfer
• Data & Video on single cable with Dual-protocol (PCI Express and
DisplayPort)
• Daisy chain up to six devices
• Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
• Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization
• Uses native PCIe and DisplayPort protocol software drivers
• Power over cable for bus-powered devices (electrical cables only)
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7. General Specifications
Parameters
Specific values
Length
3 metres (9.8 ft) (copper) max
100 metres (330 ft) (optical) max
Width
7.4 mm male (8.3 mm female)
Height
4.5 mm male (5.4 mm female)
Hot Pluggable
Yes
Daisy Chain
Yes, up to 6 devices
Audio/Video signal
Via DisplayPort Protocol
Pins
20
Connectors
Mini-display Port
Max Voltage
18V (bus power)
Max Current
550mA (9.9 W max)
Bit Rate
10 Gbps per channel (20 Gbps in total)
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8. Connector Pin Diagram
PIN NO.
PIN 1
PIN 2
PIN 3
PIN 4
PIN 5
PIN 6
PIN 7
PIN 8
PIN 9
PIN 10
PIN 11
PIN 12
PIN 13
PIN 14
PIN 15
PIN 16
PIN 17
PIN 18
PIN 19
PIN 20
SIGNAL
GND
HPD
HS0TX(P)
HSORX(P)
HS0TX(N)
HS0RX(N)
GND
GND
LSR2P TX
GND
LSR2P RX
GND
GND
GND
HS1TX(P)
HS1TX(P)
HS1TX(P)
HS1TX(P)
Ground
DPPWR
FUNCTION
Ground
Hot plug detect
High speed transmitter 0 (positive)
High speed receiver 0 (positive)
High speed transmitter 0 (negative)
High speed receiver 0 (negative)
Ground
Ground
Low speed transmit
Reserved
Low speed receiver
Reserved
Ground
Ground
High speed transmitter 1 (positive)
High speed receiver 1 (positive)
High speed transmitter 1 (negative)
High speed receiver1 (negative)
Ground
power
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9. Copper vs. Optical
The interface was originally intended
to run exclusively on an optical
physical layer using components and
flexible optical fiber cabling developed
by Intel partners and at Intel's Silicon
Photonics lab. However, it was
discovered that conventional copper
wiring could furnish the desired 10
Gbps Thunderbolt bandwidth per
channel at lower cost which lead Intel
switched to electrical connections to
reduce costs
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10. Protocol Architecture
Thunderbolt technology is based on a switched fabric architecture with full-duplex
links. The Thunderbolt protocol architecture can be abstracted into four layers
A Thunderbolt connector is capable of providing two full duplex channels. Each
channel provides bi-directional 10Gbps of band-width
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11. Protocol Architecture continuation
The Thunderbolt protocol physical layer is responsible for link maintenance including
hot-plug detection, and data encoding to provide highly efficient data transfer
The heart of the Thunderbolt protocol architecture is the Transport layer.
DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols are mapped onto the transport
layer. The mapping function is provided by a protocol adapter which is
responsible for efficient encapsulation of the mapped protocol
information into transport layer packets
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12. Controller Architecture
A Thunderbolt controller is the building block used to create Thunderbolt products. A
Thunderbolt controller contains:
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A high-performance, cross-bar Thunderbolt protocol switch
• One or more Thunderbolt ports
• One or more DisplayPort protocol adapter ports
• A PCI Express switch with one or more PCI Express protocol adapter port
Thunderbolt technology leverages the native PCI Express and DisplayPort
device drivers available in most operating systems today. Native software
support means no additional software development is required to use a
Thunderbolt technology enabled product
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13. Controller Architecture Continue
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14. Early versions of thunderbolt
Apple's introduction came as a major surprise when it was revealed that the port
was based on Mini DisplayPort, not USB. As the system was described, Intel's
solution to the display connection problem became clear
Different Controllers
MODEL
CHANNEL
POWER
FAMILY
RELEASING TIME
FEATURES
82523EF
4
3.8 W
Light Ridge
Q4 2010
DEMO
82523EFL
4
3.2 W
Light Ridge
Q4 2010
DEMO
L2310
2
1.85 W
Eagle Ridge
Q1 2011
L2210
1
0.7 W
Port Ridge
Q4 2011
DEVICE ONLY
L3510H
2
3.4 W
Cactus Ridge
CANCELLED
HOST ONLY
L3310
4
2.2 W
Cactus Ridge
Q2 2012
L4410
2
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Redwood Ridge
Q4 2013
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HOST ONLY
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15. Journey of thunderbolt
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16. Thunderbolt vs. other existing I/O
interfaces
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17. Thunderbolt 2
In June 2013, Intel announced that the next generation of Thunderbolt, based on the
controller codenamed "Falcon Ridge" (running at 20 Gbps), is officially named
"Thunderbolt 2" and slated to begin production before the end of 2013
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18. Conclusion
Thunderbolt technology brings a new balance of performance, simplicity
and flexibility to end users and product designers alike
Due to cost factor, it is out of reach for an average product for now, USB
still more popular which practically free
At present it is running at electrical standard but it will be at optical
standard in long run
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19. REFERENCES:
[1] “Thunderbolt Technology brief”, www.thunderbolttechnology.net, 2012
[2] Apple-India, “Thunderbolt next generation high speed technology”, Apple website,2011
[3] Andrew Ku,” everything you need to know about thunderbolt” Tom’s hardware, 2013
[4] Intel, ”Thunderbolt Ready-upgrade program for PC, Motherboard, workstation
computers”, Benchmark
review.com, 16 Nov 2013.
[5] James Gilbraith, “Promise preps for MAC Pro with Thunderbolt 2” macworld.com, 16 Sep 2013
[6] Thunderbolt (interface), Wikipedia, Retrieved Nov 18, 2013
[7] Jason Ziller, “Thunderbolt Technology update” Intel, 8 April, 2013
[8] Gordon Mah Ung, “Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0 “maximumpc.com, 29 Jan 2013
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20. Raghav Aggarwal
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