Aluminum alloy substrate for high density magnetic memory disks

Five hundred million aluminum alloy blanks were shipped for use in hard disk drive substrates in fiscal year 2004. Kobe Steel has 60% of the world market share for these blanks. Kobe Steel's developed aluminum alloys and process technologies meet the strict demands of high performance hard disk drives. The current aluminum alloy used for hard disk blanks, KS5D86, is characterized by a flat, smooth plated surface and a high grinding rate. In the future, the areal density of the hard disk drive must be continuously increased. Therefore, further research to improve the quality of aluminum alloy substrates is essential.