Seagate turns up the heat with 50 cent breakthrough

Researchers at Seagate Technology are claiming a major breakthrough in the treatment of storage media that will enable the company to eventually achieve data storage densities of 50 terabits per square inch or more. At 50 terabits per square inch densities, over 3.5 million high-resolution photos, 2,800 audio CDs, or 1,600 hours of television could be stored onto recording media about the size of a 50 cent coin.

Seagate's research team is currently developing the technology, called Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR), which is expected to enable these ultra-high storage densities.

The company is due to present its findings today (Thursday 25th) at the American Physical Society (APS) conference. Representing more than 42,000 members from all around the world, the APS promotes the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics.

HAMR technology will significantly extend the capacity of modern magnetic disc drives that use magnetic heads to read and write digital data onto spinning platters. HAMR achieves higher densities by using a laser-beam or other energy source to heat the recording medium at the same time that data bits are being recorded. HAMR technology will also achieve its high area densities at a cost structure on pace with the hard disc drives of today, making it a key enabling storage technology that will allow the adoption of mass storage to continue to enter emerging markets.

Seagate estimates that HAMR technology will be used in disc drive devices initially at 1 terabit per square inch densities, with a time to market of approximately 2010.

Bill Watkins, Seagate president and chief operating officer, commented: "Seagate's research team is our looking glass into the future that will continue to help guide us with selecting and developing the appropriate future technologies that will lead to best-in-class, quality products for our customers."

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