Maxell to boost Tape capacity beyond 10TB

Maxell has completed the development of NeoSMART (Super Maximum-capacity Advanced Reliability Tape), a combination of related technological breakthroughs that will provide tape media storage capacities of 10 terabytes per cartridge and beyond.

Maxell's NeoSMART consists of seven advancements in engineering that are essential to the design and mass production of future-generation, ultra high-capacity data cartridges -- capacities that will be increasingly required to meet the demands of backup, archiving, business continuity and disaster recovery. These seven innovations are:

Smaller, spherical-shaped magnetic particles that are 5,000 times thinner than a human hair

Ultra-thin coating

Advanced particle dispersion

Highly precise slitting (edge cutting)

Superior calendering (smoothing)

Improved servo track writing

Heavy-duty cartridge design

"NeoSMART represents the most promising development to date in shattering the current ceiling of tape media and meeting the needs of the future," said Steven Pofcher, Senior Marketing Manager at Maxell. "Achieving unprecedented storage capacities requires a dedication to innovation through research and development, and NeoSMART is a working example of the depth of Maxell's technical talent, driving the market in a direction that is several orders of magnitude beyond the current technology limits."

"Maxell has a long history in the innovation and development of magnetic tape media," said Robert Amatruda, research manager at IDC. "NeoSMART technology demonstrates Maxell's commitment to the development of higher capacity tape products."

As the heart and soul of tape media, magnetic particles are the determining factor of quality and reliability. NeoSMART's innovative spherical particles possess unmatched magnetic properties that would be impossible to achieve with the current acicular or needle-shaped particles in use by any available tape format. The ultra-fine spherical particles also deliver a 150 percent improvement over Barium-Ferrite magnetic particles, known for high coercivity and long considered one of the most promising candidates to be used for future high-density magnetic recording media.

In addition to incorporating NeoSMART technology into its existing tape products where possible, Maxell will work to jointly develop new tape formats to meet the capacity needs of future generations of data management and storage technologies.