Thunderbolt controllers multiplex one or more individual data lanes from connected PCIe and DisplayPort devices for transmission via one duplex Thunderbolt lane, then de-multiplex them for consumption by PCIe and DisplayPort devices on the other end.
Pin Number |
Pin Name |
Description |
---|---|---|
1 | GND | Ground |
2 | HPD | Hot plug detect |
3 | HS0TX+ | HighSpeed transmit 0 (positive) |
4 | HS0RX+ | HighSpeed receive 0 (positive) |
5 | HS0TX- | HighSpeed transmit 0 (negative) |
6 | HS0RX- | HighSpeed receive 0 (negative) |
7,8 | GND | Ground |
9 | LSR2P TX | LowSpeed transmit |
10 | GND | Ground (reserved) |
11 | LSP2R RX | LowSpeed receive |
12,13,14 | GND | Ground |
15 | HS1TX+ | HighSpeed transmit 1 (positive) |
16 | HS1RX+ | HighSpeed receive 1 (positive) |
17 | HS1TX- | HighSpeed transmit 1 (negative) |
18 | HS1RX- | HighSpeed receive 1 (negative) |
19 | GND | Ground |
20 | DPPWR |
Power |
The Thunderbolt cable has five wires: one for management and two uni-directional pairs, one for incoming and second for outgoing traffic. The cable is a crossover cable, it swaps all receive and transmit lanes; e.g., HS1TX(P) of the source is connected to HS1RX(P) of the sink. As an active cable, it includes circuitry inside the connectors.