Last September, the USB IF published the final version of USB 3.2, allowing controller and physical interface (PHY) developers to begin designing their products to support the new technology.
It seems that the development process continues with great success at ASMedia, which is showcasing the USB 3.2 PHY at Computex.
According to the USB 3.2 specification, existing USB 3.0 Type-C 1 cables certified with SuperSpeed will be able to operate at 10 Gbit/s (10 Gbit/s), as will USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 cables certified with SuperSpeed+ at 20 Gbit/s.
USB 3.2 uses two high-speed Tx/Rx channels on USB Type-C to achieve maximum throughput (20 Gbps), and while the technology maintains USB 3.1 data rates and encoding techniques, it still requires a PHY to operate.
Just a few weeks ago, Synopsys unveiled the USB 3.2 prototype, and apparently ASMedia has the USB 3.2 PHY ready. The company doesn't disclose what processing technology it's using for the physical interface, but the 10 Gbps data transfer rate isn't something to be overly concerned about.
Based on oscilloscope measurements, ASMedia's PHY works almost perfectly, so the next step for the company is to build a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 controller.
ASMedia says its controller will be ready in 2019, but doesn't specify when exactly.
Considering it takes a while for quality component manufacturers to adopt new materials and components, don't expect USB 3.2 devices to hit the market before 2020.
