Long & Medium-Term Research: Magnetic Recording Research This award is made under the Program for Long & Medium-Term Research at Foreign Centers of Excellence, which enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twelve months abroad at research centers of proven excellence. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twelve-month postdoctoral research visit by Jay R. Hoinville of Washington University with D.J. Mapps of the School of Electronic, Communication, and Electrical Engineering of Polytechnic South West, Devon, United Kingdom. The researchers will investigate magnetic recording by developing and characterizing new recording head technologies. The size of a recorded bit cell depends on the size of the recording head and on the spacing between the medium and the head. By taking advantage of the benefits of reduction of geometric scale, the researchers hope to develop recording heads which produce areal densities on the order of 1Mbit/mm2. They propose to develop a head which can be used to read/write in contact with the medium and which has a tract width of 1um. The award recommendation provides funds to cover international travel and a flat administrative allowance of $250 for the U.S. home institution.
