Hitachi lays groundwork for 20-GB Microdrive with century-old technology

TOKYO – April 5, 2005 – It seems like once a month that we write about the promise of a radical new digital storage medium. Accordingly, it’s ironic that Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has announced new advancements to a century-old magnetic recording technology that will set the stage for ultra-high capacities such as a 20-gigabyte Microdrive or a one terabyte 3.5-inch hard drive. To achieve this, Hitachi has demonstrated the industry's highest data density at 230 gigabits per square inch (Gb/in2) on perpendicular recording. Hitachi believes 230 Gb/in2, which represents a doubling of today's highest longitudinal recording densities, will be implemented in commercial hard drive products in 2007. When fully realised over the next 5-7 years, perpendicular recording could enable a 10-fold increase in data densities over longitudinal recording, paving the way for new heights in capacity such as a 60 GB one-inch drive.

« Back to Hitachi lays groundwork for 20-GB Microdrive with century-old technology