Effect of inter-granular exchange coupling on read/write properties in thin film recording media affected by thermal fluctuation

The effect of thermal fluctuation and inter-granular exchange coupling on l ongitudinal and perpendicular magnetic recording media is investigated by c omputer simulation. It is found from the calculation of magnetic characteri stics that the change in H-c due to thermal fluctuation can be suppressed b y inter-granular exchange interaction in perpendicular recording media, but it can not be suppressed in longitudinal recording media. It is found from the calculation of read/write characteristics that magnetization states re corded in longitudinal recording media are affected by thermal fluctuation sooner with the increase in the inter-granular exchange coupling, while the magnetization states recorded in perpendicular recording media is found to become less sensitive to thermal effect when the inter-granular exchange c oupling is increased. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(9 9)52208-1].