Heat-assisted magnetic recording media materials

Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is being developed as the next-generation magnetic recording technology. High anisotropy granular media such as FePt-C have been demonstrated as HAMR media for ∼2 Tbpsi (terabits per in²) recording density. In order for this technology to reach its full potential of 4-5 Tbpsi, more progress and innovations are needed for the key requirements for HAMR media, including microstructure, design, magnetic distribution, and thermal design. Beyond granular media, heated-dot magnetic recording (HDMR) is planned to extend areal density toward 10 Tbpsi. HDMR combines similar advanced recording layer materials with advanced patterning techniques to fabricate <10-nm rectangular dot media.