TDK has completed development of the LTO Ultrium 5, the fifth-generation LTO (Linear Tape-Open) Ultrium format data cartridges and the cartridges have already passed certification testing by the LTO compliance verification entity (CVE).

TDK added that it has started mass production of the LTO Ultrium 5 data cartridges.

TDK has long been an expert in the development of recording media and frequently works in close collaboration with various drive manufacturers during the initial tape and cartridge design stages to develop optimal products for each recording format.



The LTO Ultrium 5 data cartridge, the fifth-generation LTO product, has a capacity of 1.5 TB (3.0 TB with 2:1 compression) and a high-speed data transfer rate of 140 MB/s (280 MB/s with 2:1 compression) maximum. LTO Ultrium 5 is a data storage system for high-speed, high-capacity servers in today?s era of large data volumes.

To achieve this high data storage capacity of the LTO Ultrium 5 data cartridge, the recording media for LTO Ultrium 5 data storage systems uses tape that is 12.65 mm wide and has 1,280 recording tracks (compared to 896 tracks for LTO Ultrium 4). In addition, the tape thickness has been reduced to make it possible for a single cartridge to hold more data.

The LTO Ultrium 5 data cartridge, which TDK recently began mass-producing, incorporates magnetic material and tape technologies that TDK, a recording media manufacturer, has accumulated through the development of numerous magnetic recording media including LTO Ultrium products. The LTO Ultrium 5 format achieves stable read and write signals by using high-output, ultrafine metal particles designed specifically for LTO Ultrium, ultra-thin, dual-layer tape coating technology that controls the thickness of the magnetic layer on the nanometer order, and a special servo writer used to record high-precision servo signals.

In addition, a high-precision cartridge mechanism that seeks high-performance and high precision in every component including a high-precision leader pin and a reel hub that enhances the straightness of the drum is used to ensure precise drive access.