7 Functional Analysis Of A USB Flash Drive
A USB (“universal serial bus”) flash drive is a small, portable, external flash drive that plugs into a computer’s USB port. Like hard disks, USB flash drives store information, but they more easily transfer that information from one device to another. A USB flash drive has three basic components – the board, the NAND flash memory storage chip, and the controller chip.
The board holds all of the internal components and includes the USB connector. The flash drive uses the board as a means of transferring power and data to and from the USB. The NAND flash memory storage chip is the place where all the files are stored, and the controller chip is the ‘brain’ of the flash drive. It retrieves information from the drive and reads / records information on the NAND flash memory storage chip.
A USB flash drive is transistor-based and non-volatile. It has no moving parts and information stored on the NAND flash memory chip remains semi-permanently (until the file is edited or deleted). The two main transistors in a USB, used in the NAND flash memory chip, are the control gate, which controls the flow of charge, and the floating gate, where data is recorded. When data is saved, energized electrons are being sent to the floating gate to be recorded. When data is deleted, electrons are being attracted away from the floating gate.
To save a file on the USB, a voltage is applied to the control gate, which then sends electrons from the source to start flowing towards the drain. In the flowing process, the electrons gain energy to penetrate the oxide layer and are stored in the floating gate. As a result, the floating gate forms a negative charge, and the data is recorded on the gate. This data is secured even without a power source, due to the oxide layer, which acts as a safety cocoon. Deleting the data on the USB is achieved by applying a high voltage to the source of the floating gate, thus removing the charge. The positive charge on the source causes the negatively-charged
The board holds all of the internal components and includes the USB connector. The flash drive uses the board as a means of transferring power and data to and from the USB. The NAND flash memory storage chip is the place where all the files are stored, and the controller chip is the ‘brain’ of the flash drive. It retrieves information from the drive and reads / records information on the NAND flash memory storage chip.
A USB flash drive is transistor-based and non-volatile. It has no moving parts and information stored on the NAND flash memory chip remains semi-permanently (until the file is edited or deleted). The two main transistors in a USB, used in the NAND flash memory chip, are the control gate, which controls the flow of charge, and the floating gate, where data is recorded. When data is saved, energized electrons are being sent to the floating gate to be recorded. When data is deleted, electrons are being attracted away from the floating gate.
To save a file on the USB, a voltage is applied to the control gate, which then sends electrons from the source to start flowing towards the drain. In the flowing process, the electrons gain energy to penetrate the oxide layer and are stored in the floating gate. As a result, the floating gate forms a negative charge, and the data is recorded on the gate. This data is secured even without a power source, due to the oxide layer, which acts as a safety cocoon. Deleting the data on the USB is achieved by applying a high voltage to the source of the floating gate, thus removing the charge. The positive charge on the source causes the negatively-charged