TRENDS IN DIGITAL MAGNETIC RECORDING - THE APPLICATION OF THIN-FILM HEADS FOR TAPE-RECORDING

Digital tape recording systems show the same trend as hard-disk drives : a large increase of storage density with time. The use of advanced m edia and highly sensitive thin-film heads with magnetoresistive (MR) r eadout will increase the storage density dramatically. Key improvement s are narrower tracks, more sensitive MR elements attained by applying the giant magnetoresistance effect, high-saturation flux density pole materials, advanced metal powder tape, intimate head-to-tape contact, and accurate tracking. By increasing the number of channels in the mu ltitrack thin-film head, high data rates can be obtained as well. The basics of digital magnetic recording are discussed and a short histori cal overview is given of the Philips activities on thin-film heads for tape recording. An outlook on future improvements is given.