Research Could Improve Computer Data Storage
Attention editors, reporters: For a copy of the journal article on which this story is based, contact Science at (202) 326-6440 or scipak@aaas.org
Contacts: Jean J. Heremans, Ohio University, (740) 593-1792, heremans@ohio.edu; Stuart Solin, NEC Research Institute, (609) 951-2610,
solin@research.nj.nec.com
ATHENS, Ohio (September 12, 2000) -- Scientists in New Jersey and Ohio have developed new composite materials for use in magnetic sensors in computer disk drives, work that could lead to disk drives that store up to 100 times more data than conventional models.
Researchers at the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J., and Ohio University in Athens developed a design for a magnetic sensor that includes a small piece of semiconductor in which a small piece of metal is embedded. The combination and construction is what gives these composite materials an edge over the materials currently used for a variety of magnetic sensing applications, says Ohio University physicist Jean Heremans.
"Semiconductors and metals have been put together for some time, but it is the geometry of this construction that is new," said Heremans, an assistant professor in the university's College of Arts and Sciences. Heremans is a collaborator on the project with lead researcher Stuart Solin, a Fellow with NEC, and other scientists with the institute.
Magnetic sensors currently are used in devices ranging from cellular phones to personal computers to anti-lock brake systems in cars. In a computer disk drive, the sensors are installed in a device called a read head, which looks similar to the arm on a record player. As the arm moves in and out while the disk spins, it allows the drive to read data from the disk or write data to it.
In their latest studies, reported in a recent issue of the journal Science, researchers found that the new composite materials will make the read heads more sensitive to the magnetic medium that makes data storage on disks possible. What's more, the researchers expect that the new materials could enable future read heads to access information up to 1,000 times faster than read heads made of conventional materials.
"The discovery of these new nonmagnetic composite materials has the potential to significantly advance magnetic storage technology and bring the industry closer to its long-range target of a disk drive that will store a Terabit, or 1,000 Gigabits, of data per square inch," Solin said.
While their latest published study indicates that the researchers are on the right track for the development of new materials, there is much more
room for discovery, Heremans said.
"We've discovered just one geometry in a whole family of geometries for these materials that needs to be explored," said Heremans.
Heremans plans to continue his collaboration with Solin and others at the NEC Research Institute, which was founded in 1988 and conducts basic research in computing and physical sciences. This is just one of several nanoscience projects under way in the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy. This summer, the department launched an initiative to enhance nanoscience research opportunities for faculty and graduate students and to respond to a growing interest in nanoscience by state and federal agencies. The initiative is supported in part by $1.5 million in internal funding from the university.
