A study of hard:soft layer ratios and angular switching in exchange coupled media

摘要

We have performed micromagnetic simulations to investigate the magnetic behavior of exchange spring grains for hard disk recording applications. The thickness ratio between magnetically hard and soft layers was varied while the soft layer anisotropy was altered to maintain a suitable energy barrier between opposite magnetization states. The minimum required magnetic field for switching a grain and the corresponding field angle were both significantly reduced in exchange spring material compared with single-phase grains. This could lead to reduced cross-track write errors in hard drive systems and assist the development of magnetic multilayer recording technologies.