This paperbrieflyreviewstheevolutionoftoday’sharddiskdrivewiththeadditionalintention
of orientingthereadertotheoverallmechanicalandelectricalarchitecture.Themodernharddiskdrive
is amiracleofstoragecapacityandfunctiontogetherwithremarkableeconomyofdesign.Thispaper
presents apersonalviewoffuturecustomerrequirementsandtheanticipateddesignevolutionofthe
components.Therearecriticaldecisionsandgreatchallengesaheadforthekeytechnologiesofheads,
media,head–diskinterface,mechanics,andelectronics