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Seagate Adopts Helium For a 10TB HDD (computerworld.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the noble-gas-to-the-rescue dept.

Lucas123 writes: Seagate has finally adopted helium as an inert gas in its data center drives and has used it to produce a 10TB HDD for cloud-based data centers. Seagate had relied on its shingled magnetic recording technology for high-capacity drives right up until its last 8TB HDD, even after WD has used helium in several iterations of its hermetically sealed, 3.5-in HDDs. The lighter-than-air helium reduces friction on platters and allows more to be used. In Seagate's new HDD, it crammed seven platters 14 heads, a 25% increase in disk density over its 8TB drive.

3 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hydrogen next? by bobbied · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nor is it smaller than He. Hydrogen gas likes to link up as H2 molecules which are pretty big compared to the inert, "I'll bond to nothing" Helium. You want the smallest thing you can find to fly those disk heads on.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  2. SMR was a DOA idea by JoeyRox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Marginal increase in capacity for a major decrease in performance.

  3. Re:Oh yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Of course. The drives have to be sealed as tight as a helium tank.
    A side benefit is that you can submerse helium drives in an inert coolant.

    Actually, wouldn't doing so greatly reduce the leak rate?

    Sure helium is monatomic, but it would be surrounded by presumably some kind of mineral oil, or similar material. That could be used to keep the temperature pretty constant, so no great pressure delta would presumably be formed..