Japanese manufacturer TDK is expected to ship the world's first 3.5-inch hard drive platters to offer a capacity of over 640GB.

According to the company's roadmap, TDK will release the first 640GB platters in the following months. Current 3.5-inch hard drives are using platters with a capacity of 500GB each. The transition to 640GB would allow hard drive makers to launch 3.5in drives with capacities of up to 3TB, with five platters.

The same roadmap indicates that the maximum 2.5-inch platter density will rise from 320GB to 375GB, paving the way for 2.5in dual-platter 750GB drives.