A 5 TB hard drive will appear in 2013

The new reader technology for hard drives developed by Toshiba and Tohoku University (Japan) will increase the density of data storage to 1 terabit / square inch, compared to 178.8 gigabits per square inch today, causing drive capacity. 3.5 inch size increased to 5 terabytes.

The Nanocontact Magnetic Resistance technique increases the readability of the reader twice as much, meaning that the ability to detect changes in the electromagnetic field will be higher. The big difference of magnetization lies in two magnetic materials placed close to each other and connected by a bonding point of size 1 nanometer at the nearest distance.

This means that the reader becomes smaller and reads / writes smaller magnetic areas on the hard disk surface. These magnetic regions will lie close to each other with a denser density, making the disc more capacity.

Currently firms like Toshiba and Seagate are developing orthogonal recording technology with a density of 150 gigabit / square inch. And HAMR thermal recording technology is expected to reach 50 terabit / inch in 2019. At that time, firms could theoretically produce 40 - 50 terabytes of 2.5 inch size.

According to market research firm IDC, the hard drive industry in 2011 will increase its capacity by 4 times compared to 2006. The number of products sold will then reach 675 million units and the revenue will be 37 billion USD.