What is a Flash Drive?

A flash drive is a portable device which allows you to store and transfer data. The data can be files, songs, pictures, movies, PDF files etc. Most of the flash drives weigh less than 30 g, but they have enormous data storage capacity, with some capable of storing data up to 100 GB. Flash drives come in different shapes but the size is small enough to fit in your pocket. One can also purchase cases and lanyards for easy use or to make them look attractive. Flash drives are mostly made of plastic which prevents it from harm and makes it convenient to carry them. These run on the standard USB 2.0 model and some of the brands include a software to facilitate the transfer of data quickly.

Working of a Flash Drive

A flash drive uses the concept of Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM). It has a printed circuit board with a grid of rows and columns. There are two transistors separated by a thin oxide layer, at each intersection of the grid. One of the transistors is known as 'floating gate' and the other is called 'control gate'. The process used to write/save/erase data from each block is known as tunneling.

In tunneling, a charge of 10 to 13 volts is sent to the electrons on the floating gate. The charged electrons are then given a negative charge by the oxide layer. These negatively charged electrons act like a barrier between the two gates. A call sensor then checks the charge flowing through the floating gate. If the charge of the flow is higher than one half of the original charge, then the value will be 1. If it is lesser than one half of the original charge, then the value will be 0. If the charge is less than one half of the original charge, that is the value is 0, we can change it to value 1 by the application of an electric field. In a flash drive, an in-circuit wiring is used to apply the electric field, either to the entire area or to predetermined blocks. This erases the targeted area, which can then be rewritten. This is the concept behind erasing/writing data on a flash drive. So, every time you erase or write data, the electrons get charged and there is a change in their value from 0 to 1 or vice-versa. This was about what is flash drive and how does it work, let us now see some of the uses of flash drives.

Uses of a Flash Drive

• The most important use of flash drive is the transfer of data. But then a compact disc (CD) or a digital video disc (DVD) also can do the same. Why flash drives? The reason is data on flash drives is rewritable and it is more convenient to carry a flash drive compared to a CD or DVD.
• Secondly, flash drives are compatible with most of the computer operating systems and the software is designed in such a way that you will feel as if you are carrying your computer with you.
• Flash drives are also used as a back-up storage devices as some of the flash drives available in the market today have memories as large as a computer's hard drive.
• You can store an operating system on a flash drive and use it in case there is an issue with your hard drive, provided your computer is able to boot from a flash drive.

Flash drives have not only made our life comfortable but one can rely on them. The flash drives available in the market today come with added security measures like encryptions and biometrics. The icing on the cake is that the flash drives come in different forms like a ball pen, guitar, heart, robots, wristbands, coins, capsules, ball and even the good ol' Santa! So, if you are planning to buy one, you surely would be spoiled for choice! With so much to offer, flash drives surely have become one of the most popular devices today.