Pixie Dust

INTRODUCTION
In each of the past five years, hard drive capacities have doubled, keeping

storage costs low and allowing technophiles and PC users to sock away more

data. However, storage buffs believed the rate of growth could continue for only

so long, and many asserted that the storage industry was about to hit the

physical limit for higher capacities. But according to IBM, a new innovation will

push back that limit. The company is first to mass-produce computer hard disk

drives using a revolutionary new type of magnetic coating that is eventually

expected to quadruple the data density of current hard disk drive products -- a

level previously thought to be impossible, but crucial to continue feeding the

information-hungry Internet economy. For consumers, increased data density will

help hasten the transition in home entertainment from passive analog

technologies to interactive digital formats.

The key to IBM's new data storage breakthrough is a three-atom-thick layer of the element

ruthenium, a precious metal similar to platinum, sandwiched between two magnetic layers. That only

a few atoms could have such a dramatic impact caused some IBM scientists to refer to the

ruthenium layer informally as "pixie dust". Known technically as "antiferromagnetically-coupled (AFC)

media," the new multilayer coating is expected to permit hard disk drives to store 100 billion bits

(gigabits) of data per square inch of disk area by 2003. Current hard drives can store 20 gigabits of

data per square inch. IBM began shipping Travelstar hard drives in May 2001 that are capable of

storing 25.7 gigabits per square inch. Drives shipped later in the year are expected to be capable of

33% greater density. In information technology, the term "pixie dust" is often used to refer to a

technology that seemingly does the impossible. In the past decade, the data density for magnetic

hard disk drives has increased at a phenomenal pace: doubling every 18 months and, since 1997,

doubling every year, which is much faster than the vaunted Moore's Law for integrated circuits.
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering, Kidangoor

Seminar Report 2005

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Pixie Dust

It was assumed in the storage industry that the upper limit would soon be reached. The

superparamagnetic effect has long been predicted to appear when densities reached 20 to 40

gigabits per square inch - close to the data density of current products.

IBM discovered a means of adding AFC to their standard production methods so

that the increased capacity costs little or nothing. The company, which plans to implement the

process across their entire line of products, chose not to publicize the technology in advance. Many

companies have focused research on the use of AFC in hard drives; a number of vendors, such as

Seagate Technology and Fujitsu, are expected to follow IBM's lead.

AFC will be used across all IBM hard drive product lines. Prices of hard

drives are unlikely to increase dramatically because AFC increases the density and storage capacity

without the addition of expensive disks, where data is stored, or of heads, which read data off the

disks. AFC will also allow smaller drives to store more data and use less power, which could lead to

smaller and quieter devices.

Developed by IBM Research, this new magnetic media uses multilayer

interactions and is expected to permit longitudinal recording to achieve a future data density of 100

gigabits/inch2 without suffering from the projected data loss due to thermal instabilities. This new

media will thus delay for several years the impact of superparamagnetism in limiting future areal

density increases. It also requires few changes to other aspects of the hard-disk-drive design, and

will surely push back in time the industry's consideration of more complex techniques proposed for

very high-density magnetic recording, such as, perpendicular recording, patterned media or

thermally-assisted writing.
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering, Kidangoor
Seminar Report 2005
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Pixie Dust
CONVENTIONAL MEDIA
1. BASICS OF MAGNETIC RECORDING

Read-Rite's recording heads are the miniaturized hearts of disk drives and other

magnetic storage devices. While they may appear to be simple components, their design and

manufacture require leading-edge capabilities in device modeling, materials science,

photolithography, vacuum deposition processes, ion beam etching, reliability testing, mechanical

design, machining, air bearing design, tribology, and other critical skills. In general, recording heads

function according to certain principles of magnetic recording which are based directly on four

magnetic phenomena:
Magnetic Phenomena
A.An electric current produces a magnetic field.
B.Some materials are easily magnetized when placed in a weak
magnetic field. When the field is turned off, the material rapidly
demagnetizes. These are called Soft Magnetic Materials.
C.In some magnetically soft materials the electrical resistance
changes when the material is magnetized. The resistance goes

back to its original value when the magnetizing field is turned off.

This is calledMagneto-R esistance or the MR Effect. Giant

Magneto-Resistance, or the GMR Effect, is much larger than the

MR Effect and is found in specific thin film materials systems.

D.Certain other materials are magnetized with difficulty (i.e., they
require a strong magnetic field), but once magnetized, they retain
their magnetization when the field is turned off. These are called
Hard Magnetic Materialsor Permanent Magnets.
Department of Computer Science