Storage density beyond 10 Tb/in2 possible for heat-assisted magnetic recording

(Phys.org)--Global demand for data storage is constantly increasing, driven by new technologies such as Big Data and the Internet of Things, as well as personal and enterprise storage. The hard disk drives that currently store the majority of the world's data have storage densities of just under 1 Terabit per square inch (Tb/in2). One of the promising technologies being researched for increasing the storage density is heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which uses lasers to heat individual ...