Showa Denko and Seagate to jointly develop HAMR-based HD media

Article By : ACN Newswire

Showa Denko is collaborating with Seagate to develop next-generation HDD media based on Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology.

Showa Denko K.K. is collaborating with Seagate Singapore International Headquarters Pte Ltd to develop next-generation hard disk (HD) media based on Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology, a data recording method for hard disk drives (HDDs).

HAMR is a technology to record high density data on the surface of HD medium by heating the membrane of magnetic material locally in order to solve the so-called “trilemma of magnetic recording,” namely, simultaneous realization of three properties such as small magnetic particles, thermal fluctuation resistance, and easiness to be magnetized.

The theoretical maximum data storage density achievable with conventional magnetic recording technology is 1.14Tb/in2. On the other hand, theoretical data storage density achievable with HAMR technology is said to be about 5 to 6Tb/in2—making it possible to equip a 3.5in HDD with storage capacity of about 70 to 80Tb.

SDK has developed an FePt-based magnetic material and technology to mass-produce HAMR-based HD media with this new magnetic material. The FePt-based magnetic material features ultra-high ordering temperature, which was thought to be difficult to realize on the surface of HD media coated with conventional magnetic material.

Seagate leads the HDD industry in the technological development of HAMR-based HDDs. Under the joint development contract, Seagate will evaluate the FePt-based new magnetic material developed by SDK and/or SDK/Seagate collaboratively. This partnership is expected to further accelerate technological development pioneered by the two companies.

The amount of communicated data generated is expected to increase drastically due to various factors including the start of 5G mobile communication services, the spread of Internet of Things (IoT), teleworking, and the progress and expansion of digital transformation. As a result, it has become a more important task for HDD manufacturers to increase storage capacity per unit of HDD for use in data centers.

Aiming to make itself a “KOSEIHA Company” (a group of KOSEIHA Businesses that can maintain profitability and stability at high levels over a long period), Showa Denko positions its HD media business as one of its core KOSEIHA Businesses. As the largest independent HD media supplier worldwide, SDK will continue to lead the market in developing top-performance HD media equipped with next-generation recording technologies including HAMR and MAMR (microwave assisted magnetic recording), contributing to the expansion of the HDD industry’s storage capacities.

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