[Hardware] Fujifilm's New Tape Can Store 580TB of Data on One Cartridge

[HiTLeR]

Fujifilm and IBM set another record in tape storage capacity.

 

 

Magnetic tape was invented back in 1928, 92 years ago, but it took years before it got commercialized for audio applications and then as a storage medium for digital data. By today's consumer standards, magnetic tapes are slow, not convenient to use, and relatively expensive. But as magnetic tape prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday, it can offer capacities not available on modern hard disk drives. At least, IBM and Fujifilm believe that their newly developed Strontium Ferrite (SrFe) magnetic layer will enable LTO-8 tapes to store up to 580TB of data.

 

Data Storage Needs Increasing

Nowadays, data storage needs are increasing exponentially as numerous companies and organizations tend to collect big data for their services, devices generate zettabytes of data themselves, ultra-high-definition videos are gaining resolution and color depth (18K cameras are already here), and end-users are generating more data than ever. About 20% – 30% of the world's datasphere — which is predicted to grow to 175ZB by 2025 — needs real-time processing, so it has to be stored on hard drives or solid-state drives. But anywhere from 70% to 80% of data is the so-called 'cold data' that is rarely accessed but still has value for businesses.

 

 

For cold data, 3.5-inch hard drives featuring shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology are good enough. Still, they can only store up to 20TB of uncompressed data, and at $500+ they are pretty expensive. In contrast, modern LTO-8 magnetic tape cartridges can store up to 12TB native or 30TB of compressed data and cost less than $90. With an attractive combination of capacity and price, magnetic tapes have outlived three types of diskettes, CDs, and DVDs. 

 

Fujifilm, IBM Research, and Sony are still developing magnetic tapes and manage to hit new milestones rather regularly. Since 2006, IBM and Fujifilm have increased the capacity of an LTO-8 tape from 8TB to potentially up to 580TB in the coming years.

 

Strontium Ferrite Particulate Tape: 317Gb/inch2 Recording Density

In general, magnetic tape evolves like hard drives. Developers tend to reduce track width to increase recording density, reduce tape thickness to increase tape length within a cartridge, and introduce new methods to reliably record and then read the data. This time around, IBM and Fujifilm are talking about a 317Gb/in2 recording density, a 1255 meters tape length, and 580TB of capacity.

 

 

One way to increase recording density — and therefore capacity — is to switch to a new tape material. Today, most tapes use Barium Ferrite (BaFe) magnetic layer, but to move on to higher densities, they need to switch to something else. IBM Research and Fujifilm propose to use a magnetic layer consisting of Strontium Ferrite (SrFe) magnetic particles. The companies say that SrFe particles have higher magnetic characteristics and 60% less particle volume compared to BaFe particles, which enables 56.2-nm wide tracks as well as a linear density of 702Kb/inch. Furthermore, SrFe features a good recording/readback performance with low noise, and since it is an oxide, it is very stable chemically, which makes it a viable candidate for long-term data storage.