Thunderbolt (interface)

Thunderbolt is the brand name of a hardware interface for the connection of external peripherals to a computer. It was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak and first sold as part of an end-user product on February 24, 2011.

Thunderbolt combines PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort (DP) into two serial signals and provides DC power via a single cable. Up to six peripherals may be supported by a single connector through various topologies. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use the same connector as Mini DisplayPort (MDP), whereas Thunderbolt 3, 4, and 5 use the USB-C connector and support USB devices.