TDK receives the CEATEC AWARD 2013 Key Technology Category Grand Prix

Awards ceremony

Oct. 7, 2013

TDK Corporation announces that it has received the Grand Prix in the Key Technology Category of the CEATEC AWARDS 2013.

Among the technologies, products and services exhibited at CEATEC JAPAN 2013, a jury panel for the awards selects highly innovative and outstanding entries, using criteria such as scientific and technological merit, as well as future outlook and marketability. TDK was awarded the Grand Prix for its Thermal Assisted Magnetic Head exhibit. The background for this technology is the expected demand for hard disks with extremely high storage capacities such as needed for data centers that will handle the imminent explosive expansion in data volumes. Compared to existing HDD products, recording density can be increased by a factor of 2 or more. According to the panel, the entry was "rated highly because it has the potential to serve as a basis for future high-density magnetic recording technology. It is a key technology for the networked society with its expected explosive increase in data volumes."

Thermal assisted magnetic heads represent a completely new approach that combines magnetic spintronics technology that is applied in conventional heads with photonics technology employing the near-field beam principle. In addition to the conventional magnetic method, the technique also makes use of heat to perform the recording process. For the current exhibit, TDK used a hard disk supplied by Seagate Technology, rated for a revolution speed in excess of 10,000 rpm. For the first time in the world, we implemented thermal-assist magnetic head recording under Windows 7 to record and play back video data. Being awarded this prize will be a motivation for us to further accelerate our development efforts towards higher storage capacities, working diligently and aiming for early commercialization.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation is a leading electronics company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's portfolio includes electronic components, modules and systems marketed under the product brands TDK and EPCOS, power supplies, magnetic application products as well as energy devices, flash memory application devices, and others. TDK focuses on demanding markets in the areas of information and communication technology and consumer, automotive and industrial electronics. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2013, TDK posted total sales of USD 9.1 billion and employed about 80,000 people worldwide.

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