To realize a high data-transfer rate, multi-channel data transfer is indispensable as well as allowing high-frequency operation. In helical-scan systems, however, multiple heads are required, which makes precision head alignment difficult. The number of the heads is limited by the size of the rotary drum, so a head having multiple gaps in the tip is an attractive solution. If the multi-gap has a conventional configuration, however, crosstalk between channels is a severe problem. To solve this problem, we developed the ETF (Embedded Thin Film) head in which the magnetic core is minimized by using a thin-film coil [1]. Since the volume of the core of the ETF head is about 1000 times less than that of the conventional head, a single-tip multitrack head based on the ETF head should be able to reduce crosstalk. But it is difficult with a single-tip multi-track head to get good head-tape contact at each gap. In this paper, we report a double-track ETF head and investigated crosstalk and head-tape contact.
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