By heating the memory medium with a laser-generated beam at the precise spot where data bits are being recorded, HAMR dramatically increases density -- and substantially improves the outlook for magnetic recording, according to Seagate.

The need for higher storage density -- the number of data bits stored on a disk surface -- already has been addressed with smaller bits, but these data chunks are becoming so small that they will be magnetically unstable within the next five to 10 years, researchers said. "HAMR is designed, in part, to overcome the paramagnetism limit," Seagate spokesperson John Paulsen told NewsFactor, adding that the technology will be incorporated in products between five and 10 years from now.

Seagate -- which recently demonstrated the HAMR technology at the opening of its new research center in Pittsburgh -- maintains that heating the disk and recording components makes it easier to write information, which is stabilized with subsequent cooling.

To Terabit and Beyond

While the technology was originally expected to accommodate one terabit of data per square inch -- which Paulsen called "extremely high compared to today's standards," Seagate researchers now believe they can store as much as 50 terabits per square inch -- equivalent to the entire printed contents of the Library of Congress -- on a single disk drive for a notebook computer.

A different technology, under development at the University at Buffalo in New York, promises to provide a nanoscale sensor capable of reading ever-smaller bits of data. The sensor could result in DVD movie storage on small devices or even a supercomputer the size of a wristwatch, UB officials told NewsFactor.

IBM scientists also recently announced they could compress massive amounts of data into one terabit per square inch, nearly 20 times more than the most dense magnetic storage solutions currently available.

Magnetic Stays Mainstream

While other technologies, such as holographic optical storage, show promise in the storage of massive amounts of data, Seagate claims magnetic recording will remain the preferred form of mass storage. "With technologies like [holographic optical storage], what you've got is something that's much more expensive for the storage density you get," Paulsen said. "Magnetic technologies are mature, and they've been on a trajectory."

IDC research manager Dave Reinsel agreed, calling the HAMR technology "a glimpse of future magnetic recording technology." Reinsel said that technologies like HAMR "will continue to keep disk drives as the preferred mass storage device for mainstream computing for many years to come."