Open Competition 3 - Electronics and Photonics

Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording

Sponsor: Information Storage Industry Consortium (formerly National Storage Industry Con)

• Project Performance Period: 11/1/2001 - 10/31/2006
• Total project (est.): $21,599,526.00
• Requested ATP funds: $10,760,830.00

The vast majority of the world's data are created, transported, and stored in electromagnetic systems, such as computers with hard disk drives. The data storage density of hard disks has been increasing rapidly but will soon run up against a fundamental problem called the superparamagnetic limit, which occurs when bits of digital data become so small that ambient heat demagnetizes them, leading to loss of the stored data. In a five-year project, a joint venture led by the National Storage Industry Consortium will develop the technology for a novel means of overcoming the superparamagnetic limit to enable increases in storage densities by at least a factor of 100. New disk media materials will be investigated to increase energy density, and, to cope with the resulting rise in magnetic field requirements, the field required for recording data will be reduced using a novel approach known as thermally assisted or hybrid recording. In this approach, optical energy provides a small, precise spot of heat at the disk during the writing of data, reducing the required field to a level accessible by the recording head. The extreme density regime targeted (155 gigabits per square centimeter) will require new and unproven methods for designing and creating the head. Novel optical and magnetic components and engineering modeling tools will be developed, along with new materials for the head-disk interface to cope with severe heating and cooling cycles. An overall challenge will be to design solutions that are both technically sophisticated and affordable. ATP support is needed to pursue the hybrid recording approach in a timely way and avert interruptions in the industry's technical progress and economic productivity. Participants include Seagate Technology LCC (Scotts Valley, Calif.), Advanced Research Corp. (Minneapolis, Minn.), MEMS Optical Inc. (Huntsville, Ala.), Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and the University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.). If successfully developed and commercialized, the new technology will enable the magnetic data storage industry to extend its technological advancement for a decade or more beyond what could otherwise be expected, leading to new and improved recording systems -- such as wearable computers -- for use in virtually all sectors of the economy. The consumer electronics industry will be a prime beneficiary. In addition, some components developed in the project will be applicable to the photonics, telecommunications, and imaging industries.

For project information:

Paul Frank, (858) 279-7230
paul@nsic.org

Active Project Participants

• Advanced Research Corporation (White Bear Lake, MN)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• MEMS Optical, Inc. (Huntsville, AL)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• Seagate Technology, LLC (Scotts Valley, CA)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• The AZ Board of Regents (formerly University of Arizona) (Tucson, AZ)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
  [New Member since original JV was formed]
  

ATP Project Manager

David Swanson, (301) 975-8984
david.swanson@nist.gov