Definition of a Flash Drive

A flash drive, or a USB flash drive, is a small, portable storage device that weighs less than an ounce. They can be connected into larger devices through the Universal Serial Bus, better known as the USB port. These drives are removable and can store up to 128 gigabytes of data.

History

The first flash drives were sold to the public in 2000 and were called thumb drives. The drives were sold by IBM and Trek Technology.

Patents

In 2000, Lexar also introduced a flash drive which prompted Trek Technology to start lawsuits against all makers of flash drives. This was an attempt to assert the company's right to a proprietary technology patent. Trek Technology's patent was revoked by a court in the United Kingdom.

Design

Flash drives have a male USB connector that is located inside of the casing at one end of the drive. A circuit board, which contains small integrated circuits, is mounted inside the casing.

Integrated Circuits

The integrated circuits contain three functions to help the flash drive process information: they power the memory, hold the memory chip and provide the USB interface.

Time

A flash drive contains a 12 megahertz signal clock which is powered by a crystal oscillator. This helps to label and time-stamp the data.