Keeping the drive alive

Disk-drive designers at IBM Corp.'s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA, are developing magnetoresistive sensing heads and micromachined silicon actuators to make smaller and faster magnetic disk drives. To date, the company has achieved a magnetic data storage density of three gigabits per sq. in. of recording surface and is working on spin valves to reach the 10-Gbit/in.2 barrier. Although problems with magnetic transitions and noise sources still have to be surmounted, the designers are optimistic that new technology will enable them to break through the remaining physical barriers.
Disk-drive designers at IBM are taking magnetic storage densities to new heights, getting a boost from silicon micromotors and magnetoresistive sensors. Talk about a challenge. Disk-drive engineers are given a [...]