Nanotechnology increase hard disk storage

European researches at MAFIN project developed a magnetic recording medium based on tiny nanospheres. That technology could lead to hard disks that can store more than a thousand billion bits of information in a square inch.

 

 

Manfred Albrecht, from the Chemnitz University of Technology, favors a completely new approach using nanotechnology to construct a recording surface.The spheres are made of silica and are commercially available in a range of sizes. After testing many different sizes the MAFIN team settled on spheres 25 nanometres in diameter (smaller than normal storage cells).The nanospheres are mixed with an alcohol and, as it evaporates, the spheres are left in a regular pattern. Then a magnetic film is deposited on the top of the particles to form a magnetic “cap” which acts as a single magnet, with a north and a south pole. Albrecht says that this approach has large potential because it is not expensive. As well as looking at the recording medium, MAFIN researchers have also investigated recording techniques to allow information to be easily recorded and read. Detailed information could be found in original article published at CORDIS web site.