Next generation technology? Sony cassette tape sets data storage world record

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Announced last week, a new cassette tape made by Sony stores up to 185 terabytes of data, equivalent to the storage capacity of 1,184 iPod Classics or 3,700 Blu-ray discs, and 74 times more than the current cassette tape storage record held by Fuji.

Sony's breakthrough cassette tape can store around 60 million three-minute songs, which is more than anyone can listen in a lifetime, even if played non-stop.

The Japanese company is set to present the new technology at the INTERMAG Europe international magnetics conference in Dresden, Germany later this year.

Tape media storage technology involves transferring magnetic particles to polymer film in a process known as sputtering. Maximizing particle deposition density is key to increasing storage.

Roughness in the tape's underlayer in existing technologies causes the magnetic crystals to be deposited irregularly. Sony has developed an underlayer with a smooth interface which minimizes disparities in crystal placement and size.

The new technology produces magnetic layers composed of tightly packed particles with an average size of 7.7 nanometers, compared to an average of several tens of nanometers in existing technologies.

Since a cassette tape takes much longer to read and write data than digital storage, Sony's new cassette will likely be used to backup entire databases, and not to store or play music.

"The expansion of cloud services and the creation of new markets to utilize big data have led to a growing need for a data storage media which can store large amounts of information," Sony said in a statement.

By 2020 data circulating worldwide is expected to reach 40 zettabytes, which is approximately 5,200 gigabytes for every person in the world.

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