Western Digital claims it will release its first HDDs with the capacity increasing Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) technology in 2019. The company issued a press release stating it hopes to release HDDs with capacities of 40TB and beyond by 2025.
WD presented the technology in its own headquarters on an event called "Innovating to Fuel the Next Decade of Big Data" where besides MAMR technology also advancements in micro actuation and Damascene recording head technology were showcased.
MAMR has been in development for years already, according to WD, and it claims it has now made a breakthrough in material and process. Besides that, the press release mention that the breakthrough, "provides the required reliable and predictable performance, as well as the manufacturability to accelerate areal density and cost improvements to an estimated average of 15 percent per year."
The MAMR technology uses microwaves generated by a spin torque oscillator that is close to the writing head. This generates an electromagnetic field which increases the ability to record data at high density without a loss of reliability. WD hopes to achieve a 4 terabits-per-square-inch density over time.
The first MAMR based HDDs should become available by 2019, but it's unknown what kind of capacity these disks will have when they are first introduced. WD only mentions HDDs with 'ultra high capacity' for data centers.
