Patterned media recording systems - the potential and the problems

Summary form only given. Patterned media is a potential new recording technology for future high density disk drives. It addresses four impending physics limits to longitudinal recording: thermal bit decay (1 large grain per bit vs. 100 small); signal to noise ratio (no transition noise); switching speed (100´s of psec); magnetization limits (lower media coercivities, lower writer fields); and it facilitates low bit aspect ratio (no track edge noise or overwrite). Patterned media recording physics predictions are shown at 1 Tbit/sq in, while potential head and disk materials and processes, necessary R&D, areal density extensibility, and product introduction via patterned track media, are considered.