>>>I read on an AOL post that Data Storage Magazine stated that this technology WILL be on hard drives in 97 so maybe it is a done deal!<<<
Not exactly. The authors of the article said to expect to see keepered media to be used in hard-drives in 1997 - just a forward-looking projection, but not an "it's in the bag" statement. Obviously, it is a positive statement, but it's also what Ampex has been saying for quite some time - they expect to sign some sort of agreement with one or more disk manufacturers by the end of 1996.
A couple of important benefits of using keepered media were addressed in the article. One was that as densities approach 10 GB per square inch, the data might become unstable over time. The keepered layer could reduce this demagetization making a more stable high-density storage system. Another point was that Ampex has been working with uncoated media supplied by outside vendors, then applying the keepered layer and testing the media. Apparently, the keepered system hasn't been optimized, and none of the keepered media tested were manufactured using a continuous disk deposition process. They then described several ways in which the system could be optimized, including using a thinner medium, optimizing proximity keepered media, and designing a keepered media to achieve gains with MR heads. I thought it was important when they said that keepered media could allow higher flying heights while increasing capacity, thereby reducing the durability concerns normally associated with low-flying or contact heads. As you lower the flying height of the head assembly, you increase the probability of crashing the hard drive. You also need a much stiffer head assembly.
IMO, we should see a contract shortly. Eventually, I feel this process will be optimized and used with all methods of thin-film magnetic media storage. My bet is that Western Digital will be the first to sign an agreement. Here's my reasoning: They recently broke the 1-GB/platter limit while still using inductive heads. Less than 2 years ago they claimed their top capacity was 427-MB/platter, and about 9 months ago it was only 640-MB/platter. Recently they were able to achieve 1,056-Mb platter by reshaping the poles in the tripad head. Now their engineers believe they can extend inductive technology to at least 1.5-GB/platter. This was stated in a previous issue of Data Storage in a technology update report by editor-in-chief, Ernest Raia. My guess it that they will achieve this by using Ampex's keepered media! |
