ATI Considerations in Helium-Filled Hard Disk Drives

Recent advances in hard disk drive mechanics, specifically the successful introduction of helium-filled enclosures, have enabled significant increases in drive capacity. The track mis-registration characteristics of helium-filled enclosures are significantly improved compared with air-filled enclosures. We discuss how these changes in mechanical capability alter the factors limiting areal density for future products and discuss how further improvements in capacity will be realized.