Hard drives, built of Graphene, hold ten times more data.
ByShehryar Makhdoom | Published date:
A hard drive with up to a tenfold increase in density is possible using Graphene, research from the Cambridge Graphene Center shows. HDDs were first used in computers in the 1950s but only started being used as personal computer storage devices in the mid-1980s. As a result, its physical size has decreased, and its internal data storage capacity has increased. While SSDs are commonly utilized in mobile devices, HDDs are widely used in desktop computers due to their favourable production and buying costs.
The two essential components of hard disc drives are platters and ahead. Magnetic heads move quickly above the spinning platters as they write data. The space between the head and the platter is constantly being reduced to allow for higher density.
Curring parts of this distance are currently occupied by carbon overcoats (COCs). They are layers meant to protect discs from mechanical damage and corrosion. Although HDD data density has increased by a factor of four since 1990, the COC thickness has decreased by roughly one-tenth of a nanometre, which translates to a data density of one terabyte per square inch. Thus, now, Graphene has given researchers ten times more room to grow.
Researchers in Cambridge have replaced commercial Coc’s with 1-4 graphic layers and investigated friction, wear, corrosion, thermal stability, and the compatibility of lubrication. Unlike other plated coatings, Graphene's incredible thinness offers incredible durability, smoothness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, lubricant compatibility, and surface smoothness.
Graphene improves the friction two-fold, as well as exhibiting improved corrosion and wear. In addition, Graphene can minimize corrosion by about 2.5 times.
Graphene was placed on hard discs constructed of iron-platinum and tested the new technology called Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). Graphene performs at higher temperatures than current Coc’s. Thus, Graphene combined with HAMR can beat conventional hard disc drives, achieving a remarkable data density of more than ten terabytes per square inch.
"This is a significant result: Graphene can serve as a protective covering for hard disc drives, and it can handle HAMR conditions. This will further encourage the development of new high-range hard drives, "Dr. Anna Ott, one of the co-authors of this study, remarked at the Cambridge Graphene Center.
A dramatic increase in HDD data density, along with a reduction in HDD wear, is necessary to obtain longer-lasting and more sustainable magnetic data recording. Graphene-based technological advancements are on the correct track toward a more sustainable future.
Andrea Ferrari, who directs the Cambridge Graphene Center, stated: "Graphene has tremendous storage density and good wear resistance in magnetic media. Graphene's applicability in cutting-edge technology will be huge in 2020 due to the production of 1 billion gigabytes of new HDD storage."
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