Fujitsu Develops Optical Element for Thermal Assisted Magnetic Recording
Breakthrough Will Facilitate Implementation of TB/in² Recording Technology
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 28 -- Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc., one of the world's leading suppliers of innovative computer products including hard disk drives, peripherals and biometric security solutions, today announced that Fujitsu has developed a multi-layered optical element for thermal assisted magnetic recording. Using this optical element, engineers were able to achieve a sub-hundred nanometer (nm) optical spot size, which is considered an enabling element for the successful deployment of one terabit per square inch recording technology for hard disk drives. This groundbreaking development was presented during the International Symposium on Optical Memory (ISOM) in Japan this past October.
In the Personal Computing (PC) and Consumer Electronics (CE) markets, demand for high capacity products is continuing to escalate. To address today's needs, the HDD industry has implemented perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology in order to increase the storage capacity of hard disk drives. The merging of optical thermal assist and perpendicular recording is of high interest to the hard disk drive (HDD) industry, as it enables manufacturers to reach capacities around ten times greater than what is now possible.
As research and development for Terabit recording continues, thermal assisted magnetic recording is considered to be one of the crucial technologies. For this method to work, it is essential to have a very small optical spot with high optical transmission efficiency on the recording media.
Successful implementation of thermal assisted recording technology also requires the following criteria:
o Optical elements must be incorporated into the hard disk drive magnetic
head manufacturing process.
o Output beam size needs to be focused to an extremely small size to
achieve the very high density recording at 1 Terabit per square inch
(1 Tbit/in²).
o High optical transmission efficiency is required to heat the recording
spot to allow easier recording on high coercivity magnetic media.
Using a specially designed optical element, Fujitsu was able to attain a spot size of 88nm x 60nm with 17% optical efficiency. In this optical element, a multi-layered structure with an optical transmission layer was adopted. Fujitsu is the world's first company to achieve a sub-hundred nanometer optical spot with a layered optical element.
"This achievement realized by Fujitsu with the multi-layered optical element is an exciting milestone for high density recording development, as well as for the storage industry as a whole," said Joel Hagberg, vice president, marketing and business development, Fujitsu Computer Products of America. "With this accomplishment, Fujitsu is paving the way for hard disk drive manufacturers to effectively meet the demands of PC and CE vendors for ultra-high capacity HDD products."
In order to attain terabit class recording, a combination of leading-edge technologies are required, and Fujitsu remains at the forefront with such accomplishments. During 2005-06, several new breakthroughs were announced in Japan, including: advancements in patterned media technology (June '05); a new lubricant that allows for lower flying height (April '06); and improvements in head material development (August '06). With this latest achievement in thermal assisted magnetic recording, Fujitsu continues to demonstrate its leadership in technological innovations designed to improve recording density.
Note: This optical element work has been done as a part of the "Terabyte optical storage technology" project of the Optoelectronic Industry and Technology Development Association (OITDA) and The Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) in 2002, and as a part of the project of The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and METI since 2003.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting device technologies, highly reliable computing and communications products, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited reported consolidated revenues of about 4.8 trillion yen (US$40.6 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/
About Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.
Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. conducts engineering and marketing activities in Sunnyvale, CA and sales operations throughout the United States. Fujitsu Computer Products of America currently offers products and services including hard disk drives, scanners and scanner maintenance, Magneto-Optical drives, palm vein recognition technology, 10Gb Ethernet switches and degaussers. Fujitsu Computer Products of America is located at 1255 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA, 94085. For more information about Fujitsu products and services, call us at 800-626-4686 or 408-746-7000. For more information, please see: http://us.fujitsu.com/fcpa
MEDIA CONTACT:
Eileen Young
Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.
408/746-7297
eyoung@us.fujitsu.com
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Voce Communications, Inc.
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Source: Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.
Web site: http://www.fujitsu.com/
