Higher recording densities have enabled hard disk drives (HDDs) to evolve toward smaller sizes and larger capacities. This trend toward smaller size and larger capacity has gone beyond traditional PC applications, and has resulted in the establishment of a market for HDDequipped products such as music players, video movie players, cell phones and the like. This paper discusses trends of the HDD market, for which future growth is predicted, HDD technical trends, and the status of technical development and future prospects for Fuji Electric's magnetic recording media.

Technical challenges for achieving higher recording density in an aluminum substrate include the control of 0.1 nm-order minute levels of substrate waviness and surface roughness so that recording and playback can be accomplished at ultra-low magnetic head flying heights of 10 nm or less, and the reduction of surface defects of several nanometers in size. This paper reports the results achieved thus far while targeting development of an aluminum substrate for next-generation 160 GB disks by developing new advanced materials and combining suitable production parameters in both the plating and polishing processes.

Longitudinal Al substrate magnetic recording media is used mainly in PCs and servers, and has a recording capacity that exceeds 100 GB per 3.5-inch disk. Fuji Electric is advancing development of the enabling technology, which centers on substrate surface processing technology and magnetic technology. Longitudinal Al substrate magnetic recording media is beginning to be used in some home appliances and in environments more severe in terms of temperature, humidity and mechanical shocks than in the past. To support operation in such severe environments, a surface lubricating technique that incorporates a novel evaluation method is being developed. Presently, the mass production of longitudinal Al substrate magnetic recording media that supports 160 GB/disk is being targeted.

Longitudinal glass substrate magnetic recording media is being produced as 2.5-inch mobile hard disk drives (HDDs) mainly for 40 GB drives. Fuji Electric has utilized proprietary glass texture technology, seed layer technology, AFC magnetic layer technology, dual-layer protective film technology and mixed lubrication techniques. Since 2005, Fuji Electric has been advancing the development of a 60 GB model, the latest model of longitudinal glass substrate magnetic recording media. Fuji Electric has fully revised the above proprietary technologies in order to meet customer-required quality levels. This paper describes that technical development.

Hard disk drives (HDDs) that use a method of perpendicular magnetic recording have finally been put on the market, and the development of perpendicular magnetic systems for practical applications has suddenly become invigorated. Fuji Electric has developed perpendicular magnetic recording media having an aerial recording density of more than 250 Gbits/in² by optimizing the layer structures, materials, sputtering process and the like, and has also simplified the layer structure and made each layer thinner in order to increase productivity and the cost performance. This paper describes the status of development for optimization of the soft magnetic underlayer, a characteristic feature of perpendicular media, and for the structural control of a CoPtCr-SiO₂ recording layer.

The mass production of perpendicular magnetic recording media is imminent, and in order to supply highly reliable perpendicular magnetic recording media, Fuji Electric has contributed many developments, from glass substrate surface design to protective film. In particular, Fuji has developed techniques for the surface processing of glass substrates, washing of perpendicular glass substrates, and for the fabrication of a sputtered layer and protective film. The result enables the characteristically high recording density of perpendicular magnetic recording media to be ensured with greater reliability than in the case of longitudinal magnetic recording media. By continuing to make improvements, Fuji Electric intends to produce the worldwide top-level of perpendicular magnetic recording media.

As the recording density of magnetic recording media increases, analysis and evaluation technologies for disk surfaces are becoming increasingly important in order to prevent minute errors and their resultant defects, and to ensure stable flying of the read/write head. This paper describes technologies for analyzing defects of several tens of nanometers in the signal read/write error area, technologies for estimating moisture adhering to the disk surface, and applied examples that serve as guidelines for disk surface design.

In the information and communications field, the development of next generation networks (NGNs) that link various devices is rapidly causing the networking of video I/O devices to come into widespread use. In particular, printers and copiers that display and record color information and images are expected to achieve higher functionality and to become even more important in the future. This paper describes market trends for these printers and copiers, outlines the trends of electrophotographic-type printers and copiers, and presents an overview of Fuji Electric's photoconductors.

With the advances in digitization and colorization technology, there has been an increase in the number of documents containing large quantities of data, and ever larger quantities of data are being processed by printers, copiers and other devices that use photoconductors. This paper describes the materials and chemical technologies that form the basis for the commercialization of organic photoconductors used in such devices. Specifically, the present status of computer-assisted molecular design and an environmentally friendly low-waste coating liquid created with anti-aging material are reported.

With advances in digitization, colorization, and computer networking technology, printers and other output devices are able to handle information-intensive documents and large data files. Based on these market trends, year after year, ever-higher functionality and quality are being required of photoconductors. In response to such requirements, Fuji Electric develops and manufactures photoconductors suited to various needs. This paper presents an overview and describes the characteristics of organic photoconductors for use in negatively and positively charged printers.

To support higher speed, better picture quality, more stable operation and lower cost in electrophotographic-type printers, facsimile machines, copiers, and mixed-use machines that combine these functions, improvements are being made in the sensitivity, responsiveness, environmental stability, reliability and durability of organic photoconductors, the main device in these machines. This paper discusses the performance and quality of Fuji Electric's organic photoconductor products, and focuses on their long service life which is linked directly to environmental friendliness and lower running costs.

Based on its world-leading manufacturing technology, Fuji Electric is consolidating its manufacturing of organic photoconductors in a factory of China in 2006, and is building an integrated production line that combines all processes from the production of photoconductive tubes and photoconductive materials to the coating, inspection and assembly of photoconductors. This paper describes the latest production technology involved in each process and presents an overview of the integrated line.