26 TB Hard Disk Drives Due Within a Year, 40TB due in Five Years Says Toshiba

Toshiba presented an assertive five-year hard disk drive strategy. The company's immediate goal is to introduce a 26-terabyte hard drive by the end of fiscal 2022, which is 14 months from today. Meanwhile, a 40-terabyte hard drive is predicted to be available by 2027.

Increasing the capacity of a hard drive can be accomplished in two ways: either by employing platters with a higher area recording density or by adding extra platters to the drive itself. Hard drive manufacturers have traditionally used both methods to create their products. In addition to their 18TB variants, Toshiba also offers a range of other high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs), including models with nine aluminum platters and flux-control microwave-assisted magnetic recording (FC-MAMR) technology. Following that, Toshiba plans to introduce a 20TB hard drive that will continue to employ FC-MAMR disks, but will only use ten of them instead of the current eight. In order to compete with Seagate and Western Digital's already-available 20TB hard drives, the construction of a 20TB hard drive must follow a very basic method that is simple and straightforward.

Even though Toshiba's 20TB HDD will be significant in that it will allow the business to test its 10-platter helium-filled technology, it will not be a game-changer in and of itself. According to Toshiba's recently announced public roadmap, the company intends to produce successive HDD models with higher capacity in a short period of time. A 10-platter 26TB hard drive based on microwave aided switching MAMR (MAS-MAMR) technology will be introduced by the end of fiscal year 2022, which ends on March 31, 2023, and will have a capacity of 26TB (within the next 14 months). Showa Denko K.K. will manufacture the platters for the HDD, and TDK will construct the heads for the drive. The company intends to continue its strong growth and will introduce an 11-platter 30TB drive in the next years (by the end of fiscal 2024, which ends on March 31, 2025).

For hard disk drives with capacities of 30TB and 35TB, Toshiba is exploring shifting to heat-aided magnetic recording (HAMR) technology, which is expected to allow for the long-term progression in hard disk drive performance and reliability. In fiscal 2027, or around five years from now, Toshiba claims that HAMR will enable the company to deliver a hard disk with a capacity of more than 40 terabytes, according to the company.

In particular, it is crucial to note that the implementation of MAS-MAMR will need Toshiba to switch to whole new platters with fully new magnetic layers and read and write heads. For HAMR, Toshiba will be required to move to a new set of crucial components. This will require collaboration with its partners to ensure a smooth transition. In light of the inherent dangers associated with many important technological changes, Toshiba does not aim to forsake MAS-MAMR anytime soon when it begins using HAMR in the middle of the decade, according to the company.