HAMR HDD

2016: Development of HAMR HDD

As in 2016 the prices of SSD continue to fall after implementation of technology of increase in density a flash of memory, such as 3D NAND, producers of hard drives plan own technology upgrades. Bright example: That it is more dense to HAMR HDD which uses the laser on a head of reading \record of the hard drive to locate smaller bits on the rotating disk in comparison with the traditional magnetic record.

Both work as Western Digital and Seagate on HAMR HDD.

Seagate showed the technology to the thermomagnetic record for HDD which will allow to reach memory storage density the value of more than 10 terabits per square inch. It in 10 times more, than recording density at the most capacious hard drives for March, 2016. Seagate expects to work with equipment manufacturers in 2017 to show the products HAMR for applications of data centers, and in 2018 the company expects to begin to supply the disks HAMR to the broad market.

HAMR uses the laser on a head of reading \record of the hard drive that it is more dense to locate smaller bits on the rotating disk in comparison with the traditional magnetic record.

"HAMR is our following technology which will continue our movement along a curve of increase in sectoral density", - Mark Rhee, the executive director on technologies of Seagate says. "We most likely pass through these transformations each 10 years or about that".

Owing to the fact that recording density in bits per acre increases the potential of errors of data also increases because of a phenomenon known as effect of superparamagnetism. It when the magnetic attraction between close located bits on a disk can accidentally change polarity, leading to the fact that their value changes from scratch per unit of and vice versa. Random changes of bits lead to errors of data. HAMR uses the special aperture on a head of reading \record of the hard drive called the radiator of near field region which concentrates a large number of photons on the rotating disk on the smallest square.

The HAMR technology created by Seagate uses the laser a little to heat the surface of the hard drive during the magnetic record. Heat groups data bits on a disk and reduces the concentric circles known as recording tracks to increase density. HAMR also uses the oiling based on nanotubes to allow a head of reading \record of a disk to be closer to a surface better to read and write data.

HAMR as a result will allow Seagate to reach the linear density of bits about 10 trillion (10 Tbit) per square inch – in 10 times more than at the best today's HDD which recording density is 1 Tbit per square inch, according to Rhee.

Seagate already showed HAMR HDD with a recording density of 1.4 Tbit per square inch – which already 40% higher than at the best hard drives at this time.

"We do not see someone ahead of us. We have quite long story with HAMR. We work on it about 10 years" Rhee told. "We are quite in a forceful mood about when we begin to deliver it".

Seagate is going to begin deliveries of HAMR HDD in 2017.

When using HAMR the theoretical capacity of hard drives will sharply grow, providing to 3.5 inch server and client hard drives an opportunity to store about 60 TB of data, and 2.5 inch tough disks for notebooks - about 20 TB.

The marketing company Seagate uses expression "30 TB to 2020" but the executive director on technologies of the company Mark Rhee told the Computerworld magazine that it is only the purpose.

Even without HAMR, in the industry of HDD there are plans for the big recording density of disks. The structured data writing (BPM) will use nanolithography to reduce the number of the predetermined bits on a disk, contrary to the current HDD technology where each bit is stored at 20-30 magnetic grana.

BPM can increase the recording density of HDD up to 200 Tbit per square inch.

"Considering that the last HDD on 4TB uses 5 magnetic disks, this quite impressive solution", - Nathan Papadopoulos, the representative of Seagate says.

"It is obvious that there are still also other ways", - Rhee added. "We expect this technology in the middle of the next decade".