20TB hard drives expected to arrive by 2020

At the CEATEC electronics show in Japan, Seagate and TDK presented a new data storage technology expected to enable the production of hard drives with an unprecedented 20TB capacity by 2020.

At the CEATEC electronics show in Japan, Seagate and TDK presented a new data storage technology expected to enable the production of hard drives with an unprecedented 20TB capacity by 2020.

Data storage company Seagate is currently demonstrating the technology at the Japanese electronics trade show. Dubbed 'HAMR' for 'heat-assisted magnetic recording,' the technology uses a fine laser to heat the platter of the hard drive, thus increasing the amount of data that can be stored.

The company announced that with the help of the new technique, it will be possible before 2020 to produce hard drives of the traditional size capable of storing 20TB. Ultimately, according to Seagate, the technology could even enable hard drives capable of storing up to 50TB.

Seagate hopes to begin integrating this technology into 2.5-inch hard drives running at 10,000 rpm. The first HAMR drives are expected to hit the market by 2015.