OMEN
10-16-2007, 09:28 AM
Hitachi claims to have made a breakthrough in increasing hard drive capacities. By successfully shrinking the read head using nanotechnology, Hitachi claims that they expect to quadruple the current capacity of hard disks by 2011.
Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new heads in the 30-50 nanometer (nm) range, which is up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair (approx. 70-100 microns). Called current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magneto-resistive*1 (CPP-GMR) heads, Hitachi's new technology is expected to be implemented in shipping products in 2009 and reach its full potential in 2011.
In essence, 4 Terabyte (TB) desktop (3.5") drives and 1 TB laptop (2.5") drives can be expected.
While not specifically mentioned in the release, Hitachi also produces 1.8" drives currently found in Apple's iPod Classic, and we expect similar gains to be expected in those form factors as well. Recent advancements were also announced by Toshiba that can be expected by 2009.
Press Release
HITACHI ACHIEVES NANOTECHNOLOGY MILESTONE FOR QUADRUPLING TERABYTE HARD DRIVE
2x Reduction of Nanometer Recording Technology Shows Promise for 1TB Notebook and 4TB Desktop PCs in 2011
TOKYO, Oct. 15, 2007 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), announced today they have developed the world's smallest read-head technology for hard disk drives, which is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive.
Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new heads in the 30-50 nanometer (nm) range, which is up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair (approx. 70-100 microns). Called current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magneto-resistive*1 (CPP-GMR) heads, Hitachi's new technology is expected to be implemented in shipping products in 2009 and reach its full potential in 2011.
Hitachi will present these achievements at the 8th Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Conference (PMRC 2007), to be held 15th -17th October 2007, at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan.
"Hitachi continues to invest in deep research for the advancement of hard disk drives as we believe there is no other technology capable of providing the hard drive's high-capacity, low-cost value for the foreseeable future," said Hiroaki Odawara, Research Director, Storage Technology Research Center, Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. "This is an achievement for consumers as much as it is for Hitachi. It allows Hitachi to fuel the growth of the ‘Terabyte Era’ of storage, which we started, and gives consumers virtually limitless ability for storing their digital content."
Hitachi believes CPP-GMR heads will enable hard disk drive (HDD) recording density of 500 gigabits per square inch (Gb/in2) to one terabit per square inch (Tb/in2), a quadrupling of today's highest areal densities. Earlier this year, Hitachi GST delivered the industry's first terabyte hard drive with 148 Gb/in2, while the highest areal density Hitachi GST products shipping today are in the 200 Gb/in2 range. These products use existing head technology, called TMR*2 (tunnel-magneto-resistive) heads. The recording head and media are the two key technologies controlling the miniaturization evolution and the exponential capacity-growth of the hard disk drive.
MacRumours
Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new heads in the 30-50 nanometer (nm) range, which is up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair (approx. 70-100 microns). Called current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magneto-resistive*1 (CPP-GMR) heads, Hitachi's new technology is expected to be implemented in shipping products in 2009 and reach its full potential in 2011.
In essence, 4 Terabyte (TB) desktop (3.5") drives and 1 TB laptop (2.5") drives can be expected.
While not specifically mentioned in the release, Hitachi also produces 1.8" drives currently found in Apple's iPod Classic, and we expect similar gains to be expected in those form factors as well. Recent advancements were also announced by Toshiba that can be expected by 2009.
Press Release
HITACHI ACHIEVES NANOTECHNOLOGY MILESTONE FOR QUADRUPLING TERABYTE HARD DRIVE
2x Reduction of Nanometer Recording Technology Shows Promise for 1TB Notebook and 4TB Desktop PCs in 2011
TOKYO, Oct. 15, 2007 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), announced today they have developed the world's smallest read-head technology for hard disk drives, which is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive.
Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new heads in the 30-50 nanometer (nm) range, which is up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair (approx. 70-100 microns). Called current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magneto-resistive*1 (CPP-GMR) heads, Hitachi's new technology is expected to be implemented in shipping products in 2009 and reach its full potential in 2011.
Hitachi will present these achievements at the 8th Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Conference (PMRC 2007), to be held 15th -17th October 2007, at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan.
"Hitachi continues to invest in deep research for the advancement of hard disk drives as we believe there is no other technology capable of providing the hard drive's high-capacity, low-cost value for the foreseeable future," said Hiroaki Odawara, Research Director, Storage Technology Research Center, Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. "This is an achievement for consumers as much as it is for Hitachi. It allows Hitachi to fuel the growth of the ‘Terabyte Era’ of storage, which we started, and gives consumers virtually limitless ability for storing their digital content."
Hitachi believes CPP-GMR heads will enable hard disk drive (HDD) recording density of 500 gigabits per square inch (Gb/in2) to one terabit per square inch (Tb/in2), a quadrupling of today's highest areal densities. Earlier this year, Hitachi GST delivered the industry's first terabyte hard drive with 148 Gb/in2, while the highest areal density Hitachi GST products shipping today are in the 200 Gb/in2 range. These products use existing head technology, called TMR*2 (tunnel-magneto-resistive) heads. The recording head and media are the two key technologies controlling the miniaturization evolution and the exponential capacity-growth of the hard disk drive.
MacRumours