(Fe,Co)-P thin films prepared with a reactive evaporation method

Magnetic properties of (Fe,Co)/sub 2/P thin films prepared with the thermal-activated reactive evaporation method were investigated for recording media application. Above 300 degrees C, metals (Fe,Co) and phosphorus react to form M/sub 2/P. The coercive forces of these films had a maximum value of 1.3 kOe at 10% Co concentration, and the saturation magnetization increased with the increase in Co concentration. Annealing at 500 degrees C for 30 min increased the coercive force of the films up to two times. The reproduced output from the isolated magnetization transitions of a (Fe,Co)-P-film rigid disk with a ring head showed waveforms of typical longitudinal recording. A recording density of 62 kfrpi at D/sub 50/ was attained with a disk medium of about an 800-AA-thick layer.<>     

Thin-film inductive heads for perpendicular recording

A modified thin-film magnetic head for perpendicular recording in rigid disk drives with improved read/write characteristics, especially at high areal bit densities, is presented. The head on which the modified design is based is described. It combines the advantages of single-pole heads and thin-film heads, writing with the sharp field edge of the leading pole and reading like a thin-film head. To increase the writing efficiency and improve the yield, the sequence of magnetic layers in the head is changed; the second layer of the four-layer head is embedded in the substrate, where it can be placed much closer to the pole tip of the first layer. The improved write capability depends mainly on the position of the embedded layer. In addition, there results an improved magnetic flux guidance from the embedded layer into the pole tip layer, providing the potential for a significant improvement in fabrication yield. The embedded-layer approach also allows a further increase in areal density. The results of read/write tests and the write-wide and read-narrow characteristics are presented     

Frequency losses of readback efficiency for thin-film inductiveheads

Magnetic recording measurements on a rigid disk are used to derive the readback efficiency of thin film inductive heads as a function of frequency. The technique relies on a pseudo-contact air bearing system which keeps the transducer in contact with the disk over a range of velocities. It is found that the readback efficiency decreases monotonically with frequency, showing a 3 dB loss at 40 MHz for the heads used in this experiment. A four section transmission line model has been developed to include the geometry variations in different areas of the head. Domain wall motion and rotational contributions to flux transmission have been included. The calculated efficiency and impedance values are found to be in good agreement with measured values     

Performance study and analysis of dual-element head on thin-filmdisk for gigabit-density recording

Inductive-write and magnetoresistive-(MR)-read dual-element heads with very narrow tracks and gaps have been designed, fabricated, and tested on thin-film media of high coercivity and squareness. The results not only show excellent writeability at modest write currents but also the existence of a narrow region of optimum write current, limited by the onset of self-erasure by the write head at high write currents. This leads to significant degradations of overwrite, signal amplitude, trackwidth, linear resolution and disk-noise-induced peak-jitters. A peak-jitter approach is shown to be useful in characterizing many aspects of recording performance. A peak-jitter evaluation of signal-to-noise behavior reveals not only satisfactory overall performance but also the dominance of disk noise as well as a concentration of the disk noise at the track edges. Peak-jitter evaluations of offtrack and squeeze behavior clearly demonstrate the narrow-track capabilities of these recording heads for high areal density operation     

Tunneling magnetoresistive heads for magnetic data storage

Spintronics is emerging to be a new form of nanotechnologies, which utilizes not only the charge but also spin degree of freedom of electrons. Spin-dependent tunneling transport is one of the many kinds of physical phenomena involving spintronics, which has already found industrial applications. In this paper, we first provide a brief review on the basic physics and materials for magnetic tunnel junctions, followed more importantly by a detailed coverage on the application of magnetic tunneling devices in magnetic data storage. The use of tunneling magnetoresistive reading heads has helped to maintain a fast growth of areal density, which is one of the key advantages of hard disk drives as compared to solid-state memories. This review is focused on the first commercial tunneling magnetoresistive heads in the industry at an areal density of 80 approximately 100 Gbit/in2 for both laptop and desktop Seagate hard disk drive products using longitudinal media. The first generation tunneling magnetoresistive products utilized a bottom stack of tunnel junctions and an abutted hard bias design. The output signal amplitude of these heads was 3 times larger than that of comparable giant magnetoresistive devices, resulting in a 0.6 decade bit error rate gain over the latter. This has enabled high component and drive yields. Due to the improved thermal dissipation of vertical geometry, the tunneling magnetoresistive head runs cooler with a better lifetime performance, and has demonstrated similar electrical-static-discharge robustness as the giant magnetoresistive devices. It has also demonstrated equivalent or better process and wafer yields compared to the latter. The tunneling magnetoresistive heads are proven to be a mature and capable reader technology. Using the same head design in conjunction with perpendicular recording media, an areal density of 274 Gbit/in2 has been demonstrated, and advanced tunneling magnetoresistive heads can reach 311 Gbit/in2. Today, the tunneling magnetoresistive heads have become a mainstream technology for the hard disk industry and will still be a technology of choice for future hard disk products.     

5.25 inch floppy disk drive using perpendicular magnetic recording

5.25 inch high density perpendicular magnetic recording floppy disk drive has beer developed by employing new types of high saturation magnetization ring head, Co-Cr single layer medium with Ge underlayer, head slider with ellipsoidal surface configuration to assure intimate head to medium contact, and signal equalization. By these combination, recording density D50 of 145 kFCI, peakshift of 28 % at 100 kFCI, signal to noise ratio of 40.4 dB for cut-off frequency 4.25 MHz, overwrite signal to noise ratio of 27 dB, measured by writing signals at 48 kFCI over previously written 100 kFCI signals were obtained as typical recording characteristics. These results would indicate that floppy disk drive with 100 kFCI recording density has enough system margin by above-mentioned combination. In this paper, design and performance of newly developed floppy disk drive are described.     

Design issues for practical rigid disk magnetoresistive heads

Some of the issues of magnetoresistive (MR) head design are discussed from the point of view of practical, high-reliability, low-cost, manufacturable heads for rigid disk files. The major advantages of MR heads over single element inductive thin-film heads are that the MR head gives an ideal, easy to equalize output waveshape, can be used on disks with high coercivities for high linear densities, and is less subject to stability problems at narrow trackwidths. The major advantages of MR heads over metal-in-gap ferrite heads are in narrow trackwidth and high-frequency potential. Disadvantages of MR heads in the rigid disk environment include concerns about reliability and, more specifically, possible environmental fragility, loss of performance due to imperfect alignment between the read and write elements and/or due to signal asymmetry, and the possibility of higher cost/price     

Magneto-optical disk drive technology using multiple fiber-coupled flying optical heads. Part I. System design and performance

A novel flying-optical-head data storage technology is described. It is based on a micro-optical recording head that contains a silicon micromachined torsional mirror for high-bandwidth track following. Multiple heads and disks are contained in a Winchester-style rotating disk drive. Single-mode optical fibers provide light delivery to and from the heads. Both polarization-maintaining and low-birefringence fiber systems have been implemented for magneto-optical (MO) recording. A fixed optics module containing a laser diode, MO detection optics, and a 1 x N fiber bundle switch has been developed as an integral part of this new recording architecture. A 5.25-in. (13.33-cm), half-height prototype drive design and its performance are presented.     

Irreversible wall motion in inductive recording heads

The effect of signal-induced irreversible domain wall motion on the isolated transition response of recording heads is investigated. An experimental method is presented allowing differentiation between the effects caused by irreversible wall motion and reversible wall motion. The method, utilizing the injection of a small DC current into the head coil, can also be used to determine whether the irreversible motion in a thin-film head occurs in the first pole tip, the second pole tip, or the backgap. The transients observed result from signal-induced irreversible wall motion in the second pole tip. The largest isolated impulse variations occur after saturation of the yoke. In addition, it is found that Barkhausen transitions can occur at or near the top of the isolated impulse (even on its leading edge) as well as after the impulse has decayed, and not only on the trailing edge of the impulse as reported previously. Finally, the authors observe two Barkhausen-noise-free zones, the one at the leading edge being the largest     

Experimental studies of longitudinal and perpendicular high density recording

Single layer and double layer Co-Cr disks of various coercivities were sputter-deposited on rigid substrates and magnetic parameters measured. Record and playback properties were studied using both ferrite and thin film heads under identical system environments. A well optimized Ni-Co plated longitudinal disk was used as a benchmark throughout this investigation for direct comparison. With the objective of using "off the shelf" ring heads to bring up the perpendicular recording technology on rigid substrates, it was found that the performance of both our preliminary single and double layer Co-Cr perpendicular disks were at least as good as the well optimized longitudinal disk. The double layer disks have an added advantage of lower write current. Signal processing via Hilbert transform using both rectangular and Hamming windows was also studied and applied to the output waveforms.     

Magnetic properties and longitudinal recording performance of corrosion-resistant alloy films

This paper describes the magnetic properties, recording performance and corrosion resistance of sputtered CoCr alloy films and CoCrTa alloy films. The saturation magnetization of CoCr was 525 emu/cc and not affected by substitution of a small amount of Ta. CoCrTa films exhibit greater coercive force values than CoCr films. The maximum coercive force of CoCrTa was 1400 Oe at a thickness of 400A, whereas at a similar thickness the coercive force of CoCr was 900 Oe. The coercive force decreases linearly with temperature (25°C. to 125°C.) at a rate of 3.16 Oe/°C. for CoCrTa and 1.87 Oe/°C. for CoCr. Longitudinal recording performance at -3 dB signal level was 8386 flux reversals/cm (21,300 fci) and 11,063 flux reversals/cm (28,100 fci) for CoCr and CoCrTa respectively. The alloys exhibited corrosion resistance at 80% relative humidity and 65° C. for a two-week period equivalent to at least six years under ambient disc drive conditions.     

Tunneling-stabilized magnetic force microscopy of bit tracks on ahard disk

A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for surface magnetic force measurements on thin-film longitudinal magnetic storage media is described. The usual rigid PtIr tip of the STM was replaced by a flexible Fe-film tip and the tip position was stabilized near the surface of the sample using the STM feedback system as tunneling occurs between the tip and sample surface. Images of a CoCrTa thin-film hard disk showing 5 μm×3 μm bit tracks written by the ferrite head of a computer disk drive are presented. The images shown are comparable to images of the bit tracks on textured surfaces using either ferrofluid decoration or other magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging techniques. The sensitivity of the Fe-film tip was such that the influence on the image due to magnetic forces was larger than the influence due to sample surface topography     

Effect of pole-tip size on perpendicular recording head remanence

To aid understanding the physical mechanisms responsible for the perpendicular write head remanent field and thereby improve the write head design, we studied the remanence of single-pole perpendicular recording heads with trailing shield by using a contact scanning recording tester. We used two different pole-tip size heads in the study. We found that the remanence areas of the heads tested usually locate at the trailing edge corners of the pole tip. We also found that the remanence areas of both types of heads are also the head field easy-rising areas when the heads are driven by low write currents. Additionally, the current level that leads to remanence is the same for both types of heads. However, the remanence of the small pole-tip heads can be demagnetized by a much lower amplitude reverse current than that of the large pole-tip heads.     

Record characteristics of tape heads with CoZr and NiFe poles

Overwrite and recorded signal are compared for tape heads with Co ₉₁Zr₉ and Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ poles as a function of throat height. The effects of throat height variation on performance are discussed for constant current recording with and without pole saturation. The impact of pole saturation on throat height tolerance is also discussed. Co₉₁Zr₉ and Ni₈₁ Fe₁₉ tape heads have equivalent record performance as long as their poles are not saturated. When pole saturation does affect head performance, it has less impact on CoZr heads, and they record and overwrite better than NiFe heads. In a system that requires at least 25-dB 2f/1f overwrite at 2362 fc/mm (60 kFCI), for example, both CoZr and NiFe heads would perform well on oxide tape over a wide range of throat heights. On metal particle tape the overwrite falls below 25 dB at a throat height of 4.4 μm for the CoZr heads and 2.3 μm for the NiFe heads. These throat height limits could be extended with thicker poles or, in the case of NiFe, plated poles that maintain a uniform thickness on sloped areas of the underlying films. Nonetheless, for the conditions described here CoZr heads had nearly twice the throat height tolerance of otherwise identical NiFe heads     

Magnetic properties of sputtered Co-Ni-Fe-Pd films for thin-filmheads

Magnetic properties of Co-Ni-Fe-M (M=Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt) films prepared by sputtering are investigated. It is found that addition of Pd decreases the magnetostriction constant of the films from 1×10^-5 to around zero. On the other hand, addition of other elements, such as Rh, Ir, and Pt, increases it. However, coercive forces of Co-Ni-Fe-Pd films become more than 10 Oe when the magnetostriction is less than 2×10^-6. Multilayered films are investigated to obtain films with low coercive force. 43Co-27Ni-15Fe-15Pd films of 0.17 μm and Al₂O₃ films of 0.01 μm in thickness are layered time-sequentially. This multilayered film has saturation induction of 1.4 T, ≈0 magnetostriction, and a low coercive force of 1.5 Oe. Furthermore, Co-Ni-Fe-Pd films are ascertained to be as resistant to corrosion as Permalloy films. Recording heads with multilayered Co-Ni-Fe-Pd films with Al₂O₃ interlayers as magnetic cores have been fabricated. Recording characteristics were evaluated. These laminated Co-Ni-Fe-Pd/Al₂O₃ heads exhibit about 6 dB better overwrite than Permalloy heads     

The relationship between disk surface acceleration and head-to-disk interaction

One dominant trend in magnetic disk recording has been rapidly increasing areal bit density. This has been accompanied by lower head flying heights, which has caused the disk surface smoothness and flatness to be of greater concern. One technique for evaluating the surface is to fly a 3330 type slider equipped with a piezoelectric crystal instead of a read/write head. The output of the piezo-electric crystal is monitored as the full recording band of the disk surface is traversed. Isolated bursts of activity are interpreted as head contacts with flaws on the disk surface. However, even in the absence of such head hits there may be a high output from the burnish head, which we refer to as "burnish noise". Heads flying on such high burnish noise disks generate substantial audible noise accompanied by high head wear rates. In this investigation we have shown the relationship between burnish noise and the high frequency axial acceleration of the disk surface.     

磁头局部结构的优化设计和数值分析

在磁头磁盘系统中,磁头尾端与磁盘的气膜最小,局部结构承受很大的气膜压力,其气膜压力的大小和分布对磁头飞行稳定性有重要的影响.采用优化设计理论对磁头尾端局部结构进行设计,可明显改善气膜承载性能.最后,采用提出的优化设计方法对负压型磁头结构进行设计.数值分析和实验测试表明,优化后的磁头结构飞高性能参数明显得到改善.     

Erase profiles of floppy disk heads

An experimental method is described to measure the amplitude profiles across written tracks used in rigid and floppy disk drives. This method allows determination not only of read, write, and side-erasure widths associated with the heads, but also of the detailed shape of the written profiles. These profiles may be obtained for tracks in the as-written condition, or after modification by the write or erase functions of the head. This method was applied to floppy disk heads in order to determine the trim erase characteristics of straddle erase, tunnel erase, and the implicit side erase characteristic of the read/write core itself. A number of typical track profiles are shown, demonstrating the usefulness of this technique. It was found that the straddle erase elements exhibit erasure both under the air gap and under the poles straddling the read/write core; the tunnel erase elements exhibit uniform erasure across their erase gaps but are subject to azimuthal misalignment effects; and the read/write cores themselves exhibit an implicit erase function during normal writing which, in the case studied, extended about 360 μm (9 μm) to each side of the core. Applications of this method to evaluate heads for use at high track densities are also outlined.     

Comparison of readout characteristics between magnetooptic transferheads and magnetic heads

The readout characteristics of a magnetooptic transfer (MOT) head were compared with those of a magnetic head. Magnetic recording/readout was done on a CrO₂ flexible disk by using a head with a track width of 5 μm. A Bi-substituted garnet film with a domain width of 1.2 μm and an He-Ne laser spot focused down to 3 μm were used as the MOT head. Readout waveforms from both heads were surprisingly similar. The maximum carrier-to-noise ratio obtained was 50 dB (bandwidth: 30 kHz) for both heads. Experimental data for off-track and crosstalk characteristics demonstrated that the MOT head was suitable for use as a high-track-density readout head. The potential advantages of multitrack readout using MOT heads are described     

Crucial points in perpendicular recording

Since the introduction of perpendicular recording on a floppy disc by IWASAKI in 1977 and its equivalent design on a rigid disc (SPH-like sensor + double-layer medium) in 1981, many tests have been carried out on different R/W sensors. For each test the main goal was the fci record or the improvement of the magnetic layer. Seen from the recording system point of view, the head and the medium are looked at as a unit through a specification, unchanging with increasing area density. For example, a minimum of 26 dB and 70 % must be achieved for the S/N ratio and the resolution respectively. By considering the noise of the best electronic channel (with a thin film head), and ignoring mechanical and medium noises, the output signal must be at least 250 μv pop. For a 50 Kfci application, however, a sensor does not yet exist. Using a ferrite head with a 1.2 μm gap length to write on FeTbGd, the level of the signal will not be high enough to be used. It is improved with a 0.6 μm gap head but then, the field doesn't allow us to write ! Such problems exist also with thin film heads or SPH like sensors on rigid discs. To improve the R/W process, the trend is to use a double layer medium e.g. CrCo/FeNi. The results show that this direction is not necessarily the best. For example, when erasing or over-writing with the head, some domains appear in the FeNi film which create noise from the track or its edge. Another example is the fact that the optimum parameters for a medium such as CrCo are not always compatible with the characteristics of the head (i.e. Hc, the thickness, the crystallographic orientation, the bit stability compared to the write field, the signal, the noise...).