Performance analysis of beyond 100 Gb/in2 MFM-based MEMS-actuated mass storage devices

This paper presents an initial performance analysis of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-actuated mass storage devices that employ a magnetic force microscopy (MFM)-based approach for writing and reading. Extensive micromagnetic modeling and simulations have been performed to optimize both the tip dimensions and read/write flying heights in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, inter-track interference (ITI), and thermal decay rate. Using a commercial, single-layered 14-nm grain diameter Co-based granular media, this initial optimization process indicates the possibility of achieving a track pitch of 59 nm and a bit length (with conservative RL coding) of 100 nm (i.e., areal density of 105 Gb/in²). The resulting SNR is 13.1 dB (RMS signal/RMS noise) with -3 dB/10 year thermal decay rate.