Advanced Magnetic Metrology Instrumentation

The extraordinary progress in magnetic peripheral storage systems has been fueled by the advancements in heads (MR, GMR, spin valves) and in very high coercivity, low remanence-thickness product (M(r)t) media. These advancements are imposing new performance requirements on the magnetometers (VSMs) used to characterize these materials. At the same time, they have introduced a new paradigm for in-process (nondestructive, robotic) magnetic metrology toots to assure the stringent product uniformity requirements. In this paper, we discuss the recent advancements in magnetometry for characterizing state-of-the-art media and heads, as well as other magnetic materials.