Walter Knapp wrote:
> We should not get into the mode of
> expecting infinite expansion of
> capacity with time. Some of the
> most data dense hard drives now are
> approaching putting each bit on only
> one particle of magnetic material
> in the disk coating. That's a limit
> that's going to be hard to get around.
Not to worry:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113444,pg,4,00.asp
Though most consumers aren't clamoring for more storage,
manufacturers continue to seek ways to build bigger drives.
"The two most promising technologies in the labs today are
perpendicular recording and heat-assisted magnetic recording," says
longtime storage analyst Jim Porter, principal at Disk/Trend.
Maxtor recently used perpendicular recording to store up to 175GB per
hard-disk platter, surpassing today's maximum of 100GB. Instead of
storing data by magnetically orienting the particles on the platter's
surface longitudinally along a circular track (like laying bar
magnets flat--some oriented north-south, others south-north--in a
circle), this scheme magnetically orients the particles perpendicular
to the drive's surface (like a circle of bar magnets standing on
end). Perpendicular recording can pack data more densely, and could
spawn drives of 700GB, or roughly double the current maximum, in two
to three years.
Heat-assisted magnetic recording uses a more magnetically stable disk
surface, allowing denser packing and increasing data stability.
Normally this requires a stronger write head to orient the particles
of the disk's surface. But HAMR drives use a laser to heat the spot
being written to in order to make it easier to orient magnetically.
Seagate has demonstrated HAMR technology that it claims could
ultimately store 50 terabytes per square inch.
However, warns Porter, such technology could be five to ten years
away. Data density is still growing at about 50 percent per year
using less-costly, conventional techniques.
"The most important spec on any drive is price," says Porter. "None
of this [new] technology will turn into products as long as
manufacturers can produce conventional drives for less."
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