HMT Produces Media Capable of Supporting New Areal Density World Record of 36 Billion Bits Per Square Inch.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1999--

HMT Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:HMTT) and Read-Rite Corporation (Nasdaq:RDRT) have set a new magnetic data storage world record of 36 billion data bits per square inch -- a 40 percent increase over the 26.5 billion bit per square inch point reported by the companies three months ago.

This areal density corresponds to over 50GB of data storage on a 95mm diameter disk, the disk size most commonly used in disk drives.

The demonstration was done using HMT advanced low noise, low glide media produced on NiP coated aluminum substrates, a Read-Rite advanced dual spin valve GMR recording head and a trellis-coded noise predictive read channel from Marvel Semiconductor, Inc. Compared to the media used in the 26.5 billion bit per square inch demonstration, the media used here had a smoother surface finish, higher coercivity, lower Mrt and improved signal to noise ratio at higher recording density.

The magnetic recording layer employed an enhanced five element alloy and had coercivity of 3200 Oe, Mrt of 0.32 memu/cm2, and an amplitude thermal decay rate of less than 1% per decade of time at 543 KFCI, which is considered to be stable against the superparamagnetic effect. The media was made in HMT's Fremont, CA manufacturing facility.

The demonstration parameters were: Linear density of 511 KBPI, Track density of 70.4 KTPI, On Track Error Rate of less than one in a billion with an Off Track Capability of 22% of the track pitch. The magnetic spacing was about one millionth of an inch and the data were written and read back at data rates of 173 Mbits/sec (21.6 Mbytes/sec).

"HMT is pleased to continue it's advanced media development in conjunction with Read-Rite and Marvel. This is the fifth such world record density achievement to have come from the collaboration. It is very encouraging to note that independent component manufacturers can achieve leading edge technology demonstrations using components that will be widely available to our customers over the next several years," said Dr. Michael A. Russak, HMT's Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Technical Officer commenting on today's announcement.

The statements in this news release, other than the historical financial information, may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from predicted results. Further information on factors that could affect the company's results is detailed in the company's report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 1999 and report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 1999, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.

HMT Technology Corporation independently designs, develops, manufactures and markets high-performance thin-film disks. The company's products are used in high-capacity hard disk drives for a variety of high-end applications, including personal computers, network servers and workstations, and certain removable hard disk drive applications.

The disks currently being shipped by HMT primarily have coercivity levels of 2100 to 3300 Oersted, a measure of storage capacity, and glide heights of 1.2 to 0.6 microinches. The company's shares are traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol HMTT. Additional information may be obtained by visiting HMT's website at http://www.hmtt.com, or by contacting the company directly.