X-bit labs

1.2TB Notebook Hard Drive: Three Years Down the Road.

Category: Storage

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 08/13/2007 | 09:29 AM ]

A notebook hard disk drive with 1.2TB storage capacity may become reality in the nearest future. And the recent results of Fujitsu’s research of ideally “ordered” alumina nanohole patterned media are evident proof of that fact. They have just announced that they achieved the basic read/write capability of ideally ordered alumina nanoholes on a 2.5” magnetic disk with a flying head.

In January 2007, Fujitsu announced one Terabit/in2 technology, a breakthrough for future HDD capacity expansion. At that time, one-dimensionally aligned alumina nanohole patterns with 25nm pitch were produced to support one Terabit/in2 bit recording density. Now for the first time, Fujitsu has successfully created ideally “ordered” alumina nanohole patterns for isolated bit-by-bit recording on a large disk area by establishing an innovative fabrication process, and confirmed the basic read/write capability in each individual nanohole of the patterned media using a flying head on a rotating disk. Using Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) processes, the patterned alumina nanohole media was fabricated using nano-imprint lithography, anodic oxidation, and cobalt electrodeposition at a density of 100nm pitch nanoholes that was suitable to currently available head technology.

“This represents a major technological achievement towards the one Terabit/in2 mark and confirms Fujitsu’s leading position in the research and development of future storage technology, providing small form factor drives with high capacities and low energy use,” says Georg Dietsch, Director Fujitsu Storage Products Group EMEA.

In other words, they are going to continue working on a hard drive with the data density of 1Tbit per sq. inch, which they talked about in January this year. So far company specialists managed to design a device with 100nm nanoholes, while their goal is 25nm. As soon as they hit 1Tbit per sq.inch data density, it will be possible to create a two-platter 2.5-inch hard drive with the total storage capacity of 1.2TB. They predict that this technology becomes available by the year 2010.