Perpendicular stand-still recording in Co-Cr films

Some features of perpendicular recording were investigated by means of stand-still recording experiments. For this purpose several radio frequency (RF)-sputtered Co-Cr layers of two different compositions were used as media while a Permalloy single pole (SP) head was used as a write transducer. A magnetoresistive transducer (MRT) was utilized to read the recorded pattern. Further, an analytical model was developed enabling the magnetization induced by the head field in the recording medium to be calculated. Both calculations and experimental results show a sharpening of the transition, due to the demagnetizing field. For a good approximation it is sufficient to consider only the vertical head field component and vertical magnetization in the recording medium. This is a consequence of the well-developed perpendicular anisotropy and negligible in-plane remanence of the Co-Cr layers. In addition the read-out signal is completely determined by the magnetic surface charges. The remanent magnetization in the recording medium and therefore the read-out amplitude is limited by demagnetization and consequently determined by the coercivity of the Co-Cr layer. The medium noise of a dc-erased medium indicates magnetic structures of much larger dimensions than the size of the individual crystallites. This noise appears to be dependent on the saturation magnetization of the Co-Cr medium. Activation of the single pole head by a homogeneous field results in a nonlinear behavior, caused by head saturation effects. This is supported by simple one-dimensional calculations of the head field.     

Computer modeling of the write process in perpendicular recording

A self-consistent computer simulation model utilizing a ring head and single layer recording medium has been developed to study perpendicular recording. In the model it is assumed that the medium switches uniformly following the volume averaged field. The optimum recording field obtained from the model calculation at various head-medium spacings permits an estimation of head saturation limitations. The roll-off curve, which is the linear superposition of the alternating voltage pulses, is in good agreement with experimental data. The write spacing loss is spacing dependent and is 120d/λ (dB) at contact for a typical recording case. For contact recording the imaging effect is important in the write process. Optimum recording at contact is shown to produce a high overshoot and sharp leading edge in the transition while leaving the magnetization level below the coercivity; this yields an apparent "negative" transition length in terms of the arctangent transition model.     

Fundamental properties of perpendicular magnetic recording

A two dimensional computer simulation model of the magnetic recording process has been, developed to assess the fundamental properties of perpendicular magnetic recording. It was found that vertical anisotropy media are well suited to abrupt and closely spaced magnetic transitions. The demagnetizing fields support short transitions in the perpendicular mode as opposed to degrading transitions in the longitudinal mode. However, gapped heads may have difficulty in delivering high intensity vertical fields to saturate the medium. Novel write head designs might be required.     

A generalized formula for induced magnetic flux in a playback head

The usual reciprocity relation in magnetic reproduction is shown to be one form of a more general expression. This generalization incorporates an arbitrary tensor permeability which represents well oriented recording media. One useful alternate form of reciprocity is shown to involve only the irreversible or remanent recorded magnetization.     

The vibrating head magnetometer--Instrument for the measurement of magnetic transitions in high coercive force films

The magnetization pattern recorded in high coercive force media, such as magnetic tapes or discs, is measured with the vibrating head magnetometer (VHM) by vibrating a recording head parallel to the surface of the medium and along the track length. The VHM can be used with small, irregular-shaped samples. It can be used to measure precisely the shape of recorded magnetic transitions. Application of the VHM to the precise location of dropouts on prerecorded samples and to the alignment of a recording head with respect to a prerecorded track is described. Measurements have been made with the VHM of the half peak width and relative peak signal of isolated transitions in Co alloy films. The half peak width was found to be proportional to(t/H_{c})^{0.5}.     

Micromagnetic recording model of pole-tip saturation effects

Auxiliary write-head fields, either from simple analytic approximations or from finite-element computations, are used to record transitions on a Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert model of thin-film recording media. A micromagnetic model of a magnetoresistive element is used to read back the transitions. Focus is on the impact of pole-tip saturation on the quality of the recorded track and subsequent playback. It is shown that with increasing write current, the quality of the recorded transitions degrades much more rapidly than would be expected from the analytical expressions for the write-head field. Specifically, head saturation causes the transition parameter to increase. At high write currents, poor write field gradients at the track edges result in a strong increase in transition parameter with read width percentage of the recorded track     

Noise from anhysteretic remanence in magnetic tapes

A technique is described for producing anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) in situ on an endless loop tape recorder. A comparison of noise from ARM with dc noise, arising from room temperature isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) is presented in the form of demagnetization curves. By these methods, tape properties can be studied under conditions simulating "ideal" ac biased recording.     

Geometric effects in the magnetic recording process

A simplified view of magnetic recording is presented in which the effect of head-medium geometry is clearly exhibited. The model is applied to contact recording with a ring head on thick particulate media. Demagnetization fields are neglected and identical particles with angularly invariant switching fields are considered with various orientation distributions in the recording plane. For all orientation distributions symmetric about the longitudinal direction the longitudinal magnetization component vanishes at the head surface and increases with depth into the medium. Conversely, the vertical component is maximum at the head surface and decreases with depth. The resulting recording spectra therefore have greater magnitudes for vertically well-oriented particles and isotropic distributions of particles with biaxial symmetry. At short wavelengths these distributions give approximately 5 dB more output than longitudinally well-oriented media. The depth variation of longitudinal magnetization also provides one explanation for the peak in the short wavelength input-output curve measured on longitudinal media. These conclusions are expected to be dependent on the assumed angular variation of the particle nucleation field.     

Recording with magnetic bubbles

We propose to use the stray field of a magnetic domain (e.g, a bubble) for magnetic recording. It is shown that these stray fields are large enough to write information into a conventional disc or tape. An experiment in which an audio signal is recorded on a conventional tape with the aid of a stripe domain is described. We consider the feasibility of an integrated recording head for "one head per track recording" by using a multitude of bubbles in one crystal plate as well as the possibility of realizing a scanning head for video recording. Our preliminary experiments demonstrate the feasibility of recording based on this new principle.     

Influences of Thermal Fluctuations on Recorded Magnetizations During Recording Process

The recording process is examined by computer simulation to clarify the reason why magnetic recording at a linear recording density of over 2000 kFCI is difficult in perpendicular magnetic recording. The recording medium is found to suffer from strong thermal fluctuations, even during the recording process. The recorded magnetization of the preceding recorded bit is decreased considerably by the reversed head field to write the succeeding bit. Numerical results show that this decrease is not due to normal recording loss, but rather to the thermal fluctuations that is enhanced by the reversed trailing field of the SPT head. Based on the results obtained herein, recording at over 2000 kFCI is believed to be possible by reducing the trailing field strength of the SPT head.     

Magnetic recording theories: Accomplishments and unresolved problems

The published theoretical treatments on the magnetic recording process are reviewed with particular emphasis on the validity of the models and the assumptions on which they are based. It is concluded that the existing theories fairly well describe the geometrical aspects of recording-transducer to medium spacing and gap lengths-but are deficient in describing analytically the magnetic state of the recording medium before and after demagnetization. Calculated magnetization distributions by harmonic analysis for different recording media are in support of the fact that the usually assumed linear and arctangent magnetization transitions are only rough approximations of the magnetic state of a recording medium between regions of opposite magnetization. Additional shortcomings of our theoretical understanding are indicated by the assumptions of uniform magnetization through the recording medium thickness, neglecting the perpendicular component of the magnetization, and not taking into account finite track widths and magnetostatic interactions between adjacent transitions.     

The WRITE process in magnetic recording

An extension of an earlier model of the WRITE process in saturation recording that accounts for internal fields due to magnetization divergence in the recording medium is presented. It is shown that the initial condition of the medium determines the internal field distribution during WRITE and may lead to appreciable peak shift and WRITE over modulation. The special case of two successive reversals of magnetization for a dc biased recording medium is considered in detail. System design criteria for optimization of the recording medium parameters, the head pole gap, and the WRITE time constant are presented for a system where the remaining parameters are constrained. Calculation for the initial and quiescent magnetization and internal field and the expected signal trace, in addition to experimental data, are presented for an out-of-contact drum system employing a NiZn ferrite WRITE-READ head and a CoNiP plating.     

Magnetization transitions obtained by deconvolution of measured replay pulses in perpendicular magnetic recording

Magnetization transitions in perpendicular magnetic recording have been calculated from measured replay pulses by a deconvolution algorithm using an analytical expression for the field of a probe head (PH). The transitions appear to be asymmetric whereby a pronounced magnetization peak occurs whose shape depends on the medium coercivity. For the experiments double layer media with double sided probe heads have been used. For the deconvolution only perpendicular head field and medium magnetization components are considered.     

Imaging effects in contact recording on particulate media

Contact recording on longitudinal particulate media is modeled self-consistently, including the proper image for the finite gapped head. For moderate ratios of deep gap field to remanent coercivity, the major effect of the proper image occurs in readback, where the reciprocity integral must be performed self-consistently, convolving the head field with the magnetization at each head position. In contact recording the use of proper imaging has a significant effect which predominates in readback and is due to the reversible permeability of the medium. Utilization of proper imaging largely removes the vertical contribution from the readback pulse. However, for higher deep gap fields, the first readback causes irreversible erasure of the high-frequency components of the transition.     

Estimation of the shape of magnetic transitions by a deconvolution technique

The measurement of magnetic transitions in a digital recording system through the application of digital signal processing is presented. The observability of the magnetization waveform in the presence of uncertainties in the readback parameters of the head is discussed. The effect of noise on the deconvolution process and algorithmic techniques for minimizing the resulting measurement errors are outlined. Finally the measurement is demonstrated for an experimental head/disk system. A procedure for inferring the dead layer depth in a Mn-Zn head is discussed and the measuredM(x)is compared with some popular models.     

An improved approximation for the isolated transition in saturated magnetic recording

An improved analytic approximation for the isolated transition in saturated magnetic recording is developed. This, in turn, has led to a determination of the analytic form of the magnetization pattern which appears to be a more general representation of the traditional arctangent form.     

One-sided fluxes -- A magnetic curiosity?

It is shown that a previously unknown class of magnetization patterns exists in planar structures which have the unique property that all the flux escapes from one surface with none leaving the other side. A simple case is a constant amplitude rotating vector magnetization where the sense of rotation dictates which surface has no flux. More complicated magnetization patterns are elucidated. The likelihood that the one-sided flux phenomenon occurs partially in the normal write, the contact-printing and the print-through processes of tape recording is discussed. It is concluded that significant improvements in tape recording performance would ensue if means could be found to enhance the effect.     

Correlation between magnetic and recording properties in thin surfaces

Correlation between the magnetic properties and the recording performance of magnetic recording surfaces is a subject under very active investigation by several researchers. In this paper we report the results of a study conducted in which each magnetic parameter and the thickness of a recording surface was varied independently, and their effect on recording performance was individually determined. The width at half the amplitude of the pulse readback from an isolated magnetization transition on a recording surface varies proportionally to the one-half power of the thickness, and inversely proportionally to the one-half power of the coercivity; it is essentially independent of the remanent magnetization of the recording surface for coercivities greater than 150 Oe, but become increasingly more dependent on the remanent magnetization for coercivities below 150 Oe. The pulse amplitude varies proportionally to the one-half power of the coercivity, the remanence, and the thickness of the recording surface.     

Not just another self-consistent magnetic recording model

A self-consistent magnetic recording modeling method is presented which has proven useful in recording channel design on thin media. Improvements in the magnetic model and in the mathematical treatment stabilize the iterative process and reduce computer storage requirements. Major and minor media loops are fitted to quickly computable bipolynomials. Mathematical improvements include using a strong band diagonal demagnetization matrix, analytic integration with quadratic magnetization fitting, and Newton-Raphson iteration, which gives rapid convergence without underrelaxation. Quantitative predictions of timing errors in 16-bit modified frequency modulation (MFM) data patterns on a 350-bit/mm, 20-track/mm disk memory are presented, as well as playback amplitudes and saturation currents. Predictions can also be compared with experimental read/write data to determine system parameters. Two examples are given: the inference of the head efficiency and of the effective high-frequency medium squareness.     

Applications of Fourier transforms in digital magnetic recording theory

In this paper we present a unified treatment of many problems in digital pulse recording. The physics appropriate to each problem is characterized by a reciprocal-space transfer function, which may be abstracted from published studies of sine wave recording. Over twenty-five transfer functions are given in appendices. Given the transfer functions, an inverse Fourier transformation completes each problem. The fields, fluxes, and output voltage due to an arctangent magnetization profile in a tape of unit permeability are derived. A closely related case, that of a linear ramp magnetization, is treated briefly. A step function magnetization is considered for a tape of nonunit permeability in which, dependent upon the boundary conditions, demagnetization and remagnetization occur. Extensions of the theory of multitransition waveforms are undertaken, yielding the spectra of both regular and random sequences.