Western Digital Unveils Next-Generation Technology to Preserve and Access the Next Decade of Big Data
October 11 2017 - 2:01PM
Business Wire
Company Builds on its Leadership of
Delivering Industry’s Highest Capacity Hard Drives with
Demonstration of Breakthrough Innovation on Microwave-Assisted
Magnetic Recording Technology
At its “Innovating to Fuel the Next Decade of Big Data” event
today, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) announced a breakthrough
innovation for delivering ultra-high capacity hard disk drives
(HDDs) to meet the future demands of Big Data with proven data
center-level reliability. The event, held at the company’s
headquarters in Silicon Valley, included a demonstration of the
world’s first microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) HDD and
presentations from company executives and the inventor of MAMR
technology, Professor Jimmy Zhu from Carnegie Mellon University.
The company also showcased advancements in micro actuation and
Damascene recording head technology. Western Digital expects to
begin shipping ultra-high capacity MAMR HDDs in 2019 for use in
data centers that support Big Data applications across a full range
of industries.
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Western Digital demonstrates world’s
first microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) HDD. (Photo:
Business Wire)
“As the volume, velocity, variety, value and longevity of both
Big Data and Fast Data grow, a new generation of storage
technologies are needed to not only support ever-expanding
capacities, but ultimately help our customers analyze and garner
insights into our increasingly connected universe of data,” said
Mike Cordano, president and chief operating officer at Western
Digital. “Our ground-breaking advancement in MAMR technology will
enable Western Digital to address the future of high capacity
storage by redefining the density potential of HDDs and introduce a
new class of highly reliable, ‘ultra-high capacity’ drives. We have
a proven track record for identifying, investing in and delivering
advanced technologies that create new product categories and enable
the world to realize the possibilities of data. Five years ago we
introduced our HelioSeal®, helium-filled drive technology. Since
then, we have shipped more than 20 million helium drives. That type
of leadership and innovation continues today and we aim to leverage
it well into the future.”
MAMR is one of two energy-assisted technologies that Western
Digital has been developing for years. The company recently
innovated a breakthrough in material and process that provides the
required reliable and predictable performance, as well as the
manufacturability to accelerate areal density and cost improvements
to an estimated average of 15 percent per year. Developments in the
other energy-assisted technology, specifically, heat-assisted
magnetic recording (HAMR), present new material science and
reliability challenges that are not a factor in MAMR. Only MAMR
demonstrates the reliability and cost profile that meets the
demands of data center operators.
At the heart of the company’s innovation breakthrough is the
“spin torque oscillator” used to generate a microwave field that
increases the ability to record data at ultra-high density without
sacrificing reliability. Western Digital’s innovative MAMR
technology is expected to offer over 4 terabits-per-square-inch
over time. With sustained improvements in recording density, MAMR
promises to enable hard drives with 40TB of capacity and beyond by
2025, and continued expansion beyond that timeframe.
“Western Digital’s demonstration of MAMR technology is a
significant breakthrough for the hard disk drive industry,” said
John Rydning, research vice president, Hard Disk Drives, IDC.
“Commercialization of MAMR technology will pave the way to higher
recording densities, and lower cost per terabyte hard disk drives
for enterprise datacenters, video surveillance systems, and
consumer NAS products.”
Western Digital’s MAMR technology is the latest innovation to
significantly improve areal densities. It builds upon a number of
other leading innovations from the company. In addition to
HelioSeal helium-filled drive technology, MAMR also builds upon the
company’s micro actuation and recording head manufacturing
technologies. Western Digital’s advanced micro actuation technology
for data center applications enables hard drives to accurately and
reliably position magnetic heads for writing and reading at
ultra-high densities. The company’s head manufacturing operations
are the only internal supplier to utilize Damascene processing to
manufacture heads with the precise tolerances and complex
structures required for reliable and cost-effective recording at
ultra-high densities. The Damascene process also provides the
capability to embed the spin torque oscillator that enables the
manufacturing of MAMR heads. The combination of these technologies
deliver superior total cost of ownership (TCO) across all sizes of
cloud and enterprise data centers.
The demonstration of Western Digital’s MAMR technology is the
latest achievement in decades of HDD leadership from the company,
including over 7,000 issued patents in HDD technology, on-going
helium-enabled HDD technology advancements – as highlighted by the
recent introduction of the world’s first host-managed shingled
magnetic recording (SMR) technology enterprise-class 14TB hard
drive – and a long history of world’s firsts in multi-disk
design.
For further information on Western Digital MAMR technology, go
to http://innovation.wdc.com.
For press images and materials, visit http://bit.ly/2kHsNgf.
About Western Digital
Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. The
company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture,
preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of
data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile
sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver
the possibilities of data. Western Digital data-centric solutions
are marketed under the G-Technology, HGST, SanDisk, Tegile, Upthere
and WD brands.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including statements concerning our MAMR technology, including its
capacity, performance and capabilities, our technology and product
development efforts, business strategy, market positioning, growth
opportunities, market trends and data growth and its drivers. There
are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these
forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among
others: uncertainties with respect to the company's business
ventures with our joint venture partner; volatility in global
economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage
ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market
acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product
components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in
competing technologies; our development and introduction of
products based on new technologies and expansion into new data
storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and
joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other
risks and uncertainties listed in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the
company's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on Aug. 29, 2017, to which
your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, G-Technology,
SanDisk, Tegile, Upthere, WD and HelioSeal are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its
affiliates in the US and/or other countries. All other marks are
the property of their respective owners. © 2017 Western Digital
Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171011005969/en/
Western Digital Corporation Media RelationsLaura Bakken+1
408.801.7653laura.bakken@wdc.comorWestern Digital Corporation
Investor RelationsBob Blair+1 949.672.7834robert.blair@wdc.com
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