What is the general architecture of a USB flash drive?
A USB Flash Drive consists of a controller with a USB interface and a non-volatile memory interface that is connected to one or multiple non-volatile memories (lower levels or higher levels of integration are possible). Hi-speed UFDs (USB Flash Disks) use a crystal for external clock generation, and an LED is typically used as an optical activity indicator, possibly a write protect switch to control write access and some other components that are used for the remaining circuitry. Beyond this configuration, other components might be integrated depending on the functionality of a drive such as MP3 player, fingerprint sensor, etc. Are USB Flash Drives intended to be hot-pluggable (that is, you can plug one in, or remove it, with the computer already on)? The USB interface standard was created with the hot-pluggable feature in mind. Any USB device can be inserted or extracted while the computer is on.
A. A USB flash drive typically consists of a controller with a USB interface and a non-volatile memory interface that is connected to one or multiple non-volatile memories (lower level or higher level of integration are possible), Hi-Speed UFDs typically use a crystal for external clock generation, a LED is typically used as optical activity indicator, possibly a write protect switch is controlling the write access and some other components are used for the remaining circuitry. Beyond this configuration, other components might be integrated depending on the functionality of the drive, such as an MP3 player, fingerprint sensor, etc.
A USB flash drive typically consists of a controller with a USB interface and a non-volatile memory interface that is connected to one or multiple non-volatile memories (lower level or higher level of integration are possible), Hi-Speed UFDs typically use a crystal for external clock generation, a LED is typically used as optical activity indicator, possibly a write protect switch is controlling the write access and some other components are used for the remaining circuitry. Beyond this configuration, other components might be integrated depending on the functionality of the drive, such as an MP3 player, fingerprint sensor, etc.
