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Thunderbolt (interface)
Thunderbolt is the brand name of a hardware interface for the connection of external peripherals to a computer. It was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak, and first sold as part of an end-user product on 24 February 2011.
Thunderbolt combines PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort (DP) into two serial signals and provides DC power via a single cable. Up to six peripherals may be supported by a single connector through various topologies. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use the same connector as Mini DisplayPort (MDP), whereas Thunderbolt 3, 4, and 5 use the USB-C connector and support USB devices.
Thunderbolt controllers multiplex one or more individual data lanes from connected PCIe and DisplayPort devices for transmission via two duplex Thunderbolt lanes, then de-multiplex them for use by PCIe and DisplayPort devices on the other end. A single Thunderbolt port supports up to six Thunderbolt devices via hubs or daisy chains; as many of these as the host has DP sources may be Thunderbolt monitors. A device with fewer than four PCIe lanes still qualifies as a Thunderbolt device, but will not support the full capabilities and speeds of Thunderbolt.
A single Mini DisplayPort monitor or other device of any kind may be connected directly or at the very end of the chain. Thunderbolt is interoperable with DP-1.1a compatible devices. When connected to a DP-compatible device, the Thunderbolt port can provide a native DisplayPort signal with four lanes of output data at no more than 5.4 Gbit/s per Thunderbolt lane. When connected to a Thunderbolt device, the per-lane data rate achieves 10 Gbit/s and the four Thunderbolt lanes are configured as two duplex lanes, each 10 Gbit/s, comprising one lane of input and one lane of output.
Thunderbolt can be implemented on PCIe graphics cards, which have access to DisplayPort data and PCIe connectivity, or on the motherboard of computers with onboard video, such as the MacBook Air.
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. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak and, after 2011, as Silicon Photonics Link. However, it was eventually discovered that conventional copper wiring could furnish the desired 10 Gbit/s per channel at lower cost.
This copper-based version of the Light Peak concept was co-developed by Apple and Intel. Apple registered Thunderbolt as a trademark, but later transferred the mark to Intel, which held overriding intellectual property rights. Thunderbolt was commercially introduced on Apple's 2011 MacBook Pro, using the same Apple-developed connector as Mini DisplayPort.
In January 2013, Sumitomo Electric Industries began selling optical Thunderbolt cables of up to 30 m (100 ft) in length in Japan, while in late September 2013, Corning Inc. started selling fiber-optic cables of up to 60 m (200 ft) in length in the United States.
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Thunderbolt (interface)
Thunderbolt is the brand name of a hardware interface for the connection of external peripherals to a computer. It was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak, and first sold as part of an end-user product on 24 February 2011.
Thunderbolt combines PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort (DP) into two serial signals and provides DC power via a single cable. Up to six peripherals may be supported by a single connector through various topologies. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use the same connector as Mini DisplayPort (MDP), whereas Thunderbolt 3, 4, and 5 use the USB-C connector and support USB devices.
Thunderbolt controllers multiplex one or more individual data lanes from connected PCIe and DisplayPort devices for transmission via two duplex Thunderbolt lanes, then de-multiplex them for use by PCIe and DisplayPort devices on the other end. A single Thunderbolt port supports up to six Thunderbolt devices via hubs or daisy chains; as many of these as the host has DP sources may be Thunderbolt monitors. A device with fewer than four PCIe lanes still qualifies as a Thunderbolt device, but will not support the full capabilities and speeds of Thunderbolt.
A single Mini DisplayPort monitor or other device of any kind may be connected directly or at the very end of the chain. Thunderbolt is interoperable with DP-1.1a compatible devices. When connected to a DP-compatible device, the Thunderbolt port can provide a native DisplayPort signal with four lanes of output data at no more than 5.4 Gbit/s per Thunderbolt lane. When connected to a Thunderbolt device, the per-lane data rate achieves 10 Gbit/s and the four Thunderbolt lanes are configured as two duplex lanes, each 10 Gbit/s, comprising one lane of input and one lane of output.
Thunderbolt can be implemented on PCIe graphics cards, which have access to DisplayPort data and PCIe connectivity, or on the motherboard of computers with onboard video, such as the MacBook Air.
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. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak and, after 2011, as Silicon Photonics Link. However, it was eventually discovered that conventional copper wiring could furnish the desired 10 Gbit/s per channel at lower cost.
This copper-based version of the Light Peak concept was co-developed by Apple and Intel. Apple registered Thunderbolt as a trademark, but later transferred the mark to Intel, which held overriding intellectual property rights. Thunderbolt was commercially introduced on Apple's 2011 MacBook Pro, using the same Apple-developed connector as Mini DisplayPort.
In January 2013, Sumitomo Electric Industries began selling optical Thunderbolt cables of up to 30 m (100 ft) in length in Japan, while in late September 2013, Corning Inc. started selling fiber-optic cables of up to 60 m (200 ft) in length in the United States.