eUSB2 Version 2 with 4.8Gbps and the Use Cases: A Comprehensive Overview

By David Shin

January 10, 2025

When developing system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, the key features often minimize size, maximize performance, and achieve low power consumption while decreasing costs. These requirements are true for most industries, including AI-powered consumer devices, energy-intensive data centers, cloud-based enterprise systems, and smart autonomous vehicles. To meet these stringent requirements, selecting the right interface IP under advanced-process nodes became a crucial part of the development, especially for those at 5nm or smaller technology nodes. Of the various interface IP available, the USB interface has become a staple for nearly all SoCs. The introduction of embedded USB 2.0 (eUSB2) by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) in 2018 addressed the challenges of supporting lower I/O voltages required by these advanced-process nodes.

After eUSB2 was introduced, it was successfully positioned in the market for low-voltage SoCs and paired devices as an alternative to USB 2.0, supporting the data rate at up to 480Mbps. However, as technology advances, simply sticking with eUSB2 is not enough. The market demands higher data rates, lower power consumption, and enhanced resilience to EMI noise. To meet these demands, an upgraded version has been introduced.

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