Nanoholes: more capacity for harddisks

The quest for more storage density continues... Fujitsu researches suceeded to develop a similar technology that would increase harddisks capacity to around 1 Tb per square inch. This seems to be similar with a previous research project on which I blogged a while back.  

Typically the nanoholes appear at random in the aluminium. However, Itoh's team has been able to get them to form in a uniform pattern by stamping the aluminum with a die before annodization. The result when viewed under an electron microscope looks similar to a honeycomb pattern.

Next the holes are filled to just over the top with cobalt, a magnetic material, and this is polished to give a smooth surface. Before the disc is finished, a protective layer is also added. The result is a disk covered with billions of tiny cobalt-filled holes each of which can hold a magnetic charge, forming the basis of a high-density data storage disk.

"This discovery may open the way for 1Tb per square inch in density in perpendicular recording media," Itoh said. Today's most advanced drives can store somewhere between 120Gb and 140Gb per square inch.