OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2012. Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced the launch of a line-up of four 2.5-inch enterprise HDDs with a 10,500 RPM rotation speed. The new drives include the AL13SEB900, which offers a 900GB[1] capacity, the industry's highest class[2]. Volume shipment will start in August.

An improved magnetic recording head and disk magnetic layer give the AL13SEB900 an areal density of 856Mbit/mm2 (552Gbpsi) and realizes a 900GB capacity, the industry's highest class. The internal transfer rate is 286 MB/s, a boost of approximately 32% against the previous generation MBF2600RC[3], due to improved liner recording density.

The AL13SEB900 family is the first HDD series from Toshiba to employ a dual-stage head positioning actuator, which improves head positioning accuracy by approximately 30%. It achieves highly accurate tracking in a narrow tracking band, securing stable operation.

The energy consumption efficiency[4] of AL13SEB900 is approximately 41% higher than that of its predecessor, MBF2600RC, due to lower power consumption by the controller IC and increased storage capacity. The AL13SEB900 family is also compatible with the European Union's RoHS directive[5] and is Halogen-Free/Antimony-Free [6].

Demand for 2.5-inch HDD for enterprise applications is growing, as they have a smaller footprint and overall size and consume less power than 3.5-inch drives, while offering high level processing speeds and generating less heat.

Toshiba will meet the demand for enterprise applications, such as servers and storage systems by enhancing its line-up of 2.5-inch HDD with high capacity drives operating at 10,500 RPM.
Key Features
The industry's highest capacity class for enterprise HDD operating at 10,500 RPM (AL13SEB900)
AL13SEB900 achieves an industry-leading 900GB capacity by using an improved perpendicular magnetic recording technology head and a disk with an enhanced magnetic layer to realize an areal density of 856 Mbit/mm2 (552 Gbpsi).
Dual-stage head positioning actuator for improved tracking accuracy
The AL13SEB900 family is the first HDD series from Toshiba to employ a dual-stage head positioning actuator to improve tracking performance. It integrates a fine actuator with piezoelectric element on the tip of tracking arm that improves on the positioning accuracy of a single stage head positioning actuator by approximately 30%. Highly accurate tracking in a narrow tracking band secures stable operation and improves the reliability of reading and writing.
Improved high speed processing (AL13SEB900)
Improved linear recording density realizes an internal data transfer rate of 286MB/s, approximately 32% faster than the MBF2600RC.
Environmentally Conscious Products
(1)   Halogen-Free and Antimony-Free Products
These HDD products are Halogen-Free/Antimony-Free.
(2)   High energy consumption efficiency
AL13SEB900 achieves an energy consumption efficiency of 0.0044, approximately 41 % improvement over the MBF2600RC. Enhanced power management allows the disk to spin at a slower rate when not being addressed, securing a combination of fast recovery from stand-by mode and low-power consumption.
(3)   Decreased CO2 emissions throughout lifecycle [7]
The product family decreases CO2 emissions across the product lifecycle and AL13SEB900 reduces by approximately 2.4kg per year by cutting power consumption and environmental burdens from the raw materials stage.
(4)   RoHS compatible
The new drives are compatible with the European Union's RoHS directive on the elimination of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.