Perhaps even twice as much
Modern HDDs are gradually increasing in volume, but there have not been any sharp jumps for a long time. Seagate may have found a way to increase storage capacity several times at once.
Research teams from NIMS, Seagate Technology, and Tohoku University have demonstrated the feasibility of heated multilayer magnetic recording (HAMR) on dual-layer granular media. The study says that such media can provide recording densities of more than 10 Tbit/sq. inch, that is, hard drives with 10 platters will have a capacity of more than 120 TB! For comparison, now the maximum — this is about 30 TB.
The concept of multi-level magnetic recording itself has been around for some time, but its practical application is hampered by the lack of suitable media capable of storing data at different levels.
In this case, the researchers solved the problem by creating a new type of granular medium consisting of two nanogranular FePt-C films separated by an intermediate Ru-C layer with a cubic crystal structure. This solution allows for separate recording on each layer in different magnetic fields and temperatures.
Here it is worth emphasizing that we are not even talking about some kind of prototype yet, but about a scientific work describing the technology. That is, the appearance of such HDDs in the coming years should not be expected. But scientists say that, in theory, such technology could make it possible to implement three-level recording and, possibly, even four-level recording.