Skip to main content

How flash drives work???

flash drive,usb flash drive (media format),flash,usb flash drive,drive,working of flash drive,usb drive,flash memory,usb flash drive (ranked item),working,pen drive,working of pendrive,inside a usb flash drive,working of transistor,enable usb flash drive,digital,digital storage,digital photo storage,digital forensics,hard drive

As we have stepped into the Digital Era, the data and information have became one of the most important things in life. Strictly speaking, we depend on data like we do on our brain. And storing these tons of data securely is the biggest issue. Here comes the role of Secure Digital storage devices e.g. SD(Secure Digital) card, SS(Solid State) drives, Flash drives, Pen Drives, micro SD cards etc.

You must have used these storing devices, but did you ever wondered how come these tiny chips let you enjoy colorful pictures and videos and other information when inserted into your mobile phones , camera, tablets, PCs etc.? Don't worry here we are to inform you.


Before diving into it, we must be aware of some fundamentals of Digital Storage.

  • Digital storage devices store data in the form of bits i.e. 0 and 1. For example, suppose we have to store an alphabet 'G', then it will be converted into a code containing a series of 0 & 1, also known as ASCII(American Standard Code for Information Exchange) code. Every single character on your keyboard has predefined ASCII code. when you click a key, computer identifies that key with ASCII code only, it has nothing to do with that alphabet structure.
  • 0 and 1 are just power ON and power OFF respectively like we see in a switch. 0 corresponds to low voltage(0ff) and 1 corresponds to high voltage(on). High voltage means charge is present at that bit of storage device and low voltage means absence of charge at that point.

  • For switching purpose, Transistors are used. Particularly, modified version of MOSFET i.e. Floating Gate MOSFET or FGMOS are used in digital storing devices. You can click on this link to dive into the working of Transistors.

  • You might be surprised that the tiny SD card you insert in your phone actually contains thousands of tiny Transistors.

 For the sake of understanding, you can visualize the Transistor as a way for electrons passing from one Terminal to other and in the middle there stands a Gate which allows or forbids the flow. In case of FGMOS, when the GATE allows the flow from source to drain for about 50 milliseconds, some Electrons are trapped into the floating gate (like in a jail) in a particular fashion. The electrons trapped constitute a high voltage where electron is absent and a low voltage, where it's present similar to the ASCII code using 0 and 1. This way a storage drives store the data. The floating gate is surrounded by a non conducting layer of Metal Oxide, so the trapped electrons can remain there and retain the data even after decades.


The gate is applied with negative voltage in case of data deletion or formatting thus vacating the Floating Gate for newer data. As these chips have no moving parts, these are pretty long lasting.

I hope, now you are aware of the modern day Secure Digital(SD) data storage devices and their working.

For any query, Comment below.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 astonishing theories about the universe

There are a number of cosmological models and theories you might have heard about. Many of them answer most of the questions but not all. The curiosity and the quest to find the answers often result in more theories. Here we present 3 astonishing cosmological models about the universe. After all these are still theories as none has been proved yet. 1.White Holes You must have heard about the Black Hole ( click here ). A black hole is the result of a star which has died, creating a highly dense and massive body which sucks in light and all other matter surrounding it. But where do all these matter and energy go? White holes are just opposite to black holes. Instead of sucking in, they spit out everything what the blackhole absorbs. It is an area in spacetime which couldn't take anything in but throw it out into its surrounding. This was an hypothetical model created using the concept of relativity. If one will be ever found in future, it might disprove many laws of ...
1 comment
Read more

String Theory. Know on the go.

String theory  We rely on string theory to understand and to combine the quantum theory and the gravity. As the name suggests, whole theory is based on string like structures. The one dimensional objects which only have length. The lies and move through background spacetime. The advance version of string theory i.e. superstring theory is considered as THEORY OF EVERYTHING . So what string theory exactly is ??? Strings are one dimensional objects that contain energy and by there flow, one can say that energy is moving. Suppose we take a long thread and tie a knot, it will became a loop, similarly strings are joined to make a loop known as Heterotic string. These are 5 independent strings theories, telling the same thing but in different dimensions. Combination of all the 5 string theories is known as S uperstring theory . Let us see how  it works... Consider a violin, the strings attached to it, are producing waves, which are the source of energy. Havin...
Post a Comment
Read more

GOD! or SCIENCE?

One can question the existence of the God, the almighty, but can't question the belief of the people. The most controversial topic of current time and the never ending debate between religion and science- THE EXISTENCE OF THE GOD. We all must have heard one or more of the words: God, Allah, Bhagwan, the Almighty, Ishwar etc since the day we stepped into this massive universe. These all point to the same power, the supreme one. The power that drives the universe, that drives you and me and every other creature. The force that exists within each and every elementary particle. Some people having keen interest to question all the things around them, known as Scientist, believe what they see and what get through various complex equations. And 'the existence of the God' too didn't remain untouched. Perhaps, there is nothing wrong in finding what's hidden inside the nature's womb. It just get us closer to the mighty universe. That's what a scientist alw...
Post a Comment
Read more