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posted by martyb on Sunday February 21 2021, @08:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the It's-MAMR-time! dept.

Toshiba Unveils World's First FC-MAMR HDD: 18 TB, Helium Filled

Toshiba this week announced the industry's first hard drive featuring flux-control microwave-assisted magnetic recording (FC-MAMR) technology. The new MG09-series HDDs are designed primarily for nearline and enterprise applications, they offer an 18 TB capacity along with an ultra-low idle power consumption.

The Toshiba MG09-series 3.5-inch 18 TB HDD are based on the company's 3rd generation nine-platter helium sealed platform that features 18 heads with a microwave-emitting component which changes magnetic coercivity of the platters before writing data. The HD disks are made by Showa Denko K.K. (SDK), a long-time partner of Toshiba. Each aluminum platter is about 0.635 mm thick, it features an areal density of around 1.5 Tb/inch2 and can store up to 2 TB of data. The MG09 family also includes a 16 TB model which presumably features a lower number of platters (based on the same performance rating).

Previously: Toshiba Will Adopt Western Digital's Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording Approach for Hard Drives
Toshiba Roadmap Includes Both MAMR and HAMR Hard Drives, as Well as TDMR and Shingles
Western Digital Releases New 18TB, 20TB EAMR Drives


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Monday February 22 2021, @12:26AM (6 children)

    by Barenflimski (6836) on Monday February 22 2021, @12:26AM (#1115801)

    From what I understand, it is very difficult to keep helium in a container where it doesn't either diffuse, or just plain leak. Maybe what I've heard is in different applications?

    Will this be an issue with these drives? Will the helium take longer to diffuse out of the system than the hard drive would last?

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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Monday February 22 2021, @12:49AM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday February 22 2021, @12:49AM (#1115814) Journal
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Monday February 22 2021, @05:51AM

      by Barenflimski (6836) on Monday February 22 2021, @05:51AM (#1115894)

      That's fairly interesting. Thanks for the article takyon.

      TLDR; These manufacturers found a way to seal up the helium. Some of the drives have a helium sensor in them, and in all but just a couple of drives, out of thousands, the helium hasn't leaked. The drives themselves seem to have a failure rate the same as any other drive, but these folks expect these helium filled drives to last much longer which *should* drive down the failure rates.

      So to answer my own questions. The helium leaking isn't an issue. So far it seems the helium will last longer than the mechanical parts of the drive.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:12AM (#1116265)

      The article tells exactly NOTHING about the LONG-TERM perspectives of the drives not losing their helium. Spinning rust at home is for long-term storage, not short-term cost-effectiveness.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:07PM (#1115991)

    From what I understand, it is very difficult to keep helium in a container where it doesn't either diffuse, or just plain leak. Maybe what I've heard is in different applications?

    Will this be an issue with these drives? Will the helium take longer to diffuse out of the system than the hard drive would last?

    Just line the disk enclosure with an alpha-particle emitting radio-isotope. What could possibly go wrong?

  • (Score: 2) by martyb on Wednesday February 24 2021, @05:33AM (1 child)

    by martyb (76) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday February 24 2021, @05:33AM (#1116765) Journal

    From what I understand, it is very difficult to keep helium in a container where it doesn't either diffuse, or just plain leak.

    Yes, helium has its challenges, but are you posibly confusing it with hydrogen? ISTR that is the real troublemaker when it comes to storage.

    But having said that, I am starting to doubt myself. He is a noble gas and exists atomically, where H tends to exist as H2.

    Whichever is the lightest gas (and that was the point of it -- improved "flying height" over the platters), I would suggest against extended periods of trying to breathe either one!

    --
    Wit is intellect, dancing.
    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @07:15AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @07:15AM (#1116786)

      Both Hydrogen and Helium both have a tendency to leak through a container. The atoms and molecules are so small that they can and do work their way out through the gaps of the molecules making the container. There are things you can do to work around it and slow the process but it is literally unstoppable short of technology beyond our current ability to manufacture effectively at a reasonable cost.

      Hydrogen has additional problems too because it can slowly react with the container to introduce weaknesses into the material itself. However, that is really only an issue during manufacture, during certain industrial processes, or when dealing with it in an atomic form.