A brand-new HDD innovation including three-dimensional magnetic recording could enhance storage capacities and lower the number of HDDs required, appealing future cost and energy performances. Credit: SciTechDaily.comPossibility of ultra-high density disk drive with areal densities going beyond 10 Tbit/in ² utilizing multi-level magnetic recording.Research groups from NIMS, Seagate Technology, and Tohoku University have actually made an advancement in the field of disk drive (HDD) by showing the expediency of multi-level recording utilizing a three-dimensional magnetic recording medium to keep digital details. The research study groups have revealed that this innovation can be used to increase the storage capacity of HDDs, which could lead to more efficient and affordable information storage options in the future.Enhancing Data Storage CapacityData centers are increasingly saving vast amounts of information on hard disk drives (HDDs) that use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) to keep information at areal densities of around 1.5 Tbit/in ². To transition to higher areal densities, a high anisotropy magnetic recording medium consisting of FePt grains combined with heat-assisted laser writing is required. This technique, called heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), is capable of sustaining areal recording densities of approximately 10 Tbit/in ². Densities of bigger than 10 Tbit/in ² are possible based on a new principle demonstrated by saving multiple recording levels of 3 or 4 compared with the binary level used in HDD technology.Schematic view of (top) currently used HAMR and (bottom) three-dimensional magnetic recording systems. In the three-dimensional magnetic recording system, the Curie temperature of each recording layer varies by about 100 K and information are composed to each layer by adjusting the laser power. Credit: Yukiko Takahashi NIMS, Thomas Chang Seagate Technology, Simon Greaves Tohoku UniversityInnovations in 3D Magnetic RecordingIn this research study, we prospered in arranging the FePt recording layers three-dimensionally, by fabricating lattice-matched, FePt/Ru/FePt multilayer movies, with Ru as a spacer layer. Measurements of the magnetization reveal the two FePt layers have different Curie temperatures. This suggests that three-dimensional recording becomes possible by adjusting the laser power when composing. In addition, we have actually demonstrated the concept of 3D recording through recording simulations, using a media model that simulates the microstructure and magnetic properties of the fabricated media.Future Prospects and ImplicationsThe three-dimensional magnetic recording technique can increase taping capability by stacking recording layers in 3 measurements. This implies that more digital information can be kept with less HDDs, causing energy cost savings for data centers. In the future, we prepare to establish processes to minimize the size of FePt grains, to improve the orientation and magnetic anisotropy, and to stack more FePt layers to understand a media structure ideal for practical usage as a high-density HDD.This research was released in Acta Materialia on March 24, 2024. eference: “Dual-layer FePt-C granular media for multi-level heat-assisted magnetic recording” by P. Tozman, S. Isogami, I. Suzuki, A. Bolyachkin, H. Sepehri-Amin, S.J. Greaves, H. Suto, Y. Sasaki, T.Y. Chang, Y. Kubota, P. Steiner, P.W. Huang, K. Hono and Y.K. Takahashi, 24 March 2024, Acta Materialia.DOI: 10.1016/ j.actamat.2024.119869 This research was performed by Dr. P. Tozman, Distinguished Researcher, and Dr. Yukiko Takahashi, Group Leader of NIMS Center for Magnetic and Spintronics Materials Research, Dr. T.Y. Chang, Researcher at Seagate Technology, and Prof. S.J. Greaves of Tohoku University. This work was supported by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Strategic Basic Research Programs (CREST) “Integrated Devices and Systems Utilizing Information Carriers” JPMJCR22C3.