As tape capacity increases with each generation, smaller and smaller track spacing is being demanded along with tighter Track MisRegistration (TMR) requirements and increased linear density such that tape capacity can be effectively increased without an accompanying loss in data integrity. One of the factors that impedes the increased linear density is the dimensional stability of the tape. Tape Dimensional Stability (TDS) is a measure of the positional stability of the magnetic data tracks relative to each other and is a function of the tape properties and environmental effects such as temperature, humidity, tension, and creep. These environmental factors can cause the tape to expand or contract laterally, across the width of the tape. Therefore, when a tape is written to in one environmental extreme and subsequently read from in another extreme, the position of the data tracks across the tape width can change enough to cause signal degradation or read errors.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds