Fujitsu Hard Disk Drive Technology Breakthrough
Announcement posted by Fujitsu Australia Limited 20 Sep 2001
Latest advancement allows 110GB on a 2.5 Hard Disk Drive
Supports Fujitsus new focus on Mobile, Enterprise & Consumer Electronics markets
Supports Fujitsus new focus on Mobile, Enterprise & Consumer Electronics markets
Fujitsu, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of hard drives, will aggressively pursue market leadership in the fast-growing enterprise and mobile HDD markets, following its announcement of the worlds highest recording density of 100 Gigabits per square inch. The technology breakthrough will give Fujitsus hard disk drives approximately three times the recording density of the latest models and will become available within two years.
The benefits will be apparent in PCs, laptop computers and consumer electronics devices with a 2.5" hard disk drive. The large storage capacity of more than 110Gbytes will be enough to record 20 DVD-quality movies.
The technology breakthrough follows Fujitsu Limiteds announcement of its plans to capitalise on exploding demand for enterprise (SCSI) storage devices for servers, growth in 2.5 storage devices for the mobile computing segment, and emerging markets for these smaller hard drives in consumer-oriented household appliances, audio-visual products and other non-PC applications. To accommodate the new push, Fujitsu will shift development, manufacturing and sales resources away from the 3.5" IDE desktop drive market that recorded negative growth in the first half of 2001.
"Were very excited about bringing hard disk drives with this technology to market by early December this year," said Anthony Rixon, Product Manager HDD at Fujitsu Australia Peripheral Products Group. "This technology breakthrough reinforces Fujitsus hard disk drive leadership, particularly in the Enterprise Storage and laptop and consumer electronic appliances markets, making Fujitsu the ideal choice for HDD product.
Details of the new technology were announced by Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. at the Magnetic Recording Conference in Minneapolis, USA, in August .
New Technology
The newly developed technology employs a recording media (Synthetic Ferrimagnetic Media see *1) that allows increased recording density three times greater than what was thought to be possible due to thermal instability, a double specular GMR (Giant Magneto-Resistive) read head that achieves a higher playback output level than existing models by at least two times, and a high-precision write head that increases data recording ability by over 30%.
Using these new technologies, Fujitsu has achieved a recording density of more than 100Gbit/in2 -- considered until now the limit for longitudinal magnetic recording. The company is now developing technology necessary to achieve a density of 300Gbit/in2.
Features of New Media and GMR Heads
1) A New Type of Recording Medium
Using a new type of recording medium (SF Media see *1) resistant to thermal instability, introduced in April of last year, a stable recording density of more than 100Gbit/in2 is achieved. With improved materials, signal decay is predicted to be less than 1% in five years.
2) Improved Data Read-Out
Fujitsu also developed a double specular GMR head with two ultra-thin oxide layers on the top and bottom of the multi-layer film for increased sensitivity. This enabled electrical conduction with minimal dispersion, thereby doubling the data read output. With this head, Fujitsu achieved sufficient signal output with a read core width of 0.12 micron.
3) Increased Data Recording Performance
Using process technology that allows precise manufacturing of recording heads with a core width of 0.2 micron or less and new materials designed to produce a powerful magnetic field, Fujitsu was able to increase data recording power by 30% over conventional methods. Thus, the company has succeeded in recording extremely narrow tracks onto a recording medium with a width of 0.16 micron.
The Fujitsu Laboratories research team is now working toward achieving recording densities around 300Gbit/in2 by improving these technologies.
Terminology
*1 Synthetic Ferrimagnetic Media: Media consisting of two or more magnetic layers that are antiferromagnetically coupled by a nonmagnetic spacer such as Ruthenium. These media allow thermally stable recording with low remanent magnetisation & thickness value for high resolution.
Notes to Editors
About Fujitsu Australia Limited
http://www.fujitsu.com.au
Fujitsu is one of the world's leading e-services organisations. Fujitsu technology solutions, from servers to e-Business applications, are powering the new Internet economy.
In Australia and New Zealand Fujitsu is helping corporate and government customers to design, build and operate solutions which offer competitive advantage in the internet world, from state-of-the-art infrastructure through to complex e-Business solutions. Our portfolio of IT services includes consulting, systems integration, prime contracting and a full range of professional services.
Fujitsu Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited of Japan.
About Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. Internet: http://www.fujitsu.com/
The benefits will be apparent in PCs, laptop computers and consumer electronics devices with a 2.5" hard disk drive. The large storage capacity of more than 110Gbytes will be enough to record 20 DVD-quality movies.
The technology breakthrough follows Fujitsu Limiteds announcement of its plans to capitalise on exploding demand for enterprise (SCSI) storage devices for servers, growth in 2.5 storage devices for the mobile computing segment, and emerging markets for these smaller hard drives in consumer-oriented household appliances, audio-visual products and other non-PC applications. To accommodate the new push, Fujitsu will shift development, manufacturing and sales resources away from the 3.5" IDE desktop drive market that recorded negative growth in the first half of 2001.
"Were very excited about bringing hard disk drives with this technology to market by early December this year," said Anthony Rixon, Product Manager HDD at Fujitsu Australia Peripheral Products Group. "This technology breakthrough reinforces Fujitsus hard disk drive leadership, particularly in the Enterprise Storage and laptop and consumer electronic appliances markets, making Fujitsu the ideal choice for HDD product.
Details of the new technology were announced by Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. at the Magnetic Recording Conference in Minneapolis, USA, in August .
New Technology
The newly developed technology employs a recording media (Synthetic Ferrimagnetic Media see *1) that allows increased recording density three times greater than what was thought to be possible due to thermal instability, a double specular GMR (Giant Magneto-Resistive) read head that achieves a higher playback output level than existing models by at least two times, and a high-precision write head that increases data recording ability by over 30%.
Using these new technologies, Fujitsu has achieved a recording density of more than 100Gbit/in2 -- considered until now the limit for longitudinal magnetic recording. The company is now developing technology necessary to achieve a density of 300Gbit/in2.
Features of New Media and GMR Heads
1) A New Type of Recording Medium
Using a new type of recording medium (SF Media see *1) resistant to thermal instability, introduced in April of last year, a stable recording density of more than 100Gbit/in2 is achieved. With improved materials, signal decay is predicted to be less than 1% in five years.
2) Improved Data Read-Out
Fujitsu also developed a double specular GMR head with two ultra-thin oxide layers on the top and bottom of the multi-layer film for increased sensitivity. This enabled electrical conduction with minimal dispersion, thereby doubling the data read output. With this head, Fujitsu achieved sufficient signal output with a read core width of 0.12 micron.
3) Increased Data Recording Performance
Using process technology that allows precise manufacturing of recording heads with a core width of 0.2 micron or less and new materials designed to produce a powerful magnetic field, Fujitsu was able to increase data recording power by 30% over conventional methods. Thus, the company has succeeded in recording extremely narrow tracks onto a recording medium with a width of 0.16 micron.
The Fujitsu Laboratories research team is now working toward achieving recording densities around 300Gbit/in2 by improving these technologies.
Terminology
*1 Synthetic Ferrimagnetic Media: Media consisting of two or more magnetic layers that are antiferromagnetically coupled by a nonmagnetic spacer such as Ruthenium. These media allow thermally stable recording with low remanent magnetisation & thickness value for high resolution.
Notes to Editors
About Fujitsu Australia Limited
http://www.fujitsu.com.au
Fujitsu is one of the world's leading e-services organisations. Fujitsu technology solutions, from servers to e-Business applications, are powering the new Internet economy.
In Australia and New Zealand Fujitsu is helping corporate and government customers to design, build and operate solutions which offer competitive advantage in the internet world, from state-of-the-art infrastructure through to complex e-Business solutions. Our portfolio of IT services includes consulting, systems integration, prime contracting and a full range of professional services.
Fujitsu Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited of Japan.
About Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. Internet: http://www.fujitsu.com/