Aims and Goals

Rapid advances continue to be made in the improvement of the data storage densities and device capacities of hard disks and other devices that use magnetic recording. These devices are constituent data communications technologies. It is clearly apparent that additionally high magnetic recording densities are something society desires from here on.

This committee was established to accomplish rapid advances in increased magnetic recording densities and capacities through the use of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR), an original Japanese technology. This committee has brought together researchers from a wide range of academic fields, including magnetism physics, magnetic engineering, and recording engineering, with participation by industrial researchers and technicians from leading manufacturers, to conduct active research and development related to higher density PMR storage. The paradigm shift involving PMR in hard disk devices that began in 2005 has been one of the great successes arising from this committee’s efforts, and we have now reached a point where almost all hard disk devices, 600 million in 2010, have switched to PMR. From here on, the committee will be devoting its efforts to producing even more advances in storage technologies through next-generation high density PMR and to seeking the application of these technologies in society.

Research Themes

1.	Achieving surface density magnetic recording higher than one terabit per inch2 using PMR
2.	Research and development related to high capacity storage systems employing PMR
(1)	Integrated perpendicular high capacity storage technologies for society
(2)	The impact of information and communication technologies on high capacity storage
3.	PMR head and disk research and development
4.	Establishing guiding PMR design principles
(1)	Establishing recording and playback theories related to PMR
(2)	Research and development related to signal processing formulae suited to PMR
(3)	Developing quantitative design techniques with computer simulations
5.	Investigating next-generation ultra-high density magnetic recording methods

Committee Chairperson

Shunichi Iwasaki Chief director Tohoku Institute of Technology

Duration

August 2006 to July 2011 (Seventh term, Five years)

Membership Composition

Academia: 32
Industry: 15
Total membership: 47

Committee Achievements and Special Activities

Creation of practical PMR methods for hard disk devices through cooperation between academia and industry

Hosting of Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Conferences. PMRC 2007, the eighth, was held at Tokyo International Forum, and the recent PMRC 2010, the ninth, was held in Sendai.