IDEMA's Joel Weiss: An Introduction

After 32 years in the HDD (hard disk drive) industry focused on recording media, I find myself expanding my horizons. I’ve recently become president of IDEMA, the trade association for the storage industry. I’ve had a long history with IDEMA; I was on the Board of Directors from 1990–2000, and Chairman of the Board from 1997–2000. Like myself, IDEMA once focused exclusively on HDD-related storage but today, we are expanding our horizons to include hybrid HDDs and, potentially, fully solid-state storage.

Prior to joining IDEMA, I was vice president of engineering for Seagate Technology’s recording media operations, where I oversaw the company’s media R&D efforts. Before that, I spent six years with Akashic Memories, where I directed all product research and development while overseeing business development and long-term equipment strategies. Prior to that, I spent two years with Corning, helping mature the glass substrate market.

As a co-founder of Domain Technology in the 1980’s, I oversaw a number of advanced technology programs that helped drive the industry’s first 2½ inch form factor to market. And, like many of you, I began my career at IBM in south San Jose, where I worked on developing the company’s disk process integration strategy. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Management from Boston University; any fellow Terriers out there? My Masters and Ph.D. in Materials Engineering are from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

I’m looking forward to sharing some thoughts with you in upcoming blog posts. I might look, for example, at the effects of Moore’s Law on the flash memory industry. Currently, flash memory is at around the 50 nanometer lithography mark, and geometries will continue to shrink over time. Is 25 nm flash possible? Will it require new technologies? Mike Splinter, CEO of Applied Materials, noted in a March 20^th interview with Reuters that this change will most likely be necessary if flash memory supply is to keep pace with demand.

Here's another potential topic; the HDD industry recently moved from longitudinal recording to perpendicular, helping to keep the areal density growth rate around 40% per year. HDD companies are working now on new technologies such as HAMR (Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording) and BPM (Bit Patterned Media) to maintain this areal density growth rate well into the next decade. How hard will it be for disk makers to switch production to BPM? How will head manufacturers deal with the new technology of HAMR? Will we simultaneously implement these new technologies, or will there be a time when the two merge into a blended technology?

Have a question or comment? Let me hear from you—email me or, preferably, publicly post your thoughts so that others can benefit from your insights and join in the dialogue.