RARE-EARTH TRANSITION-METAL ALLOYS FOR MAGNETOOPTICAL RECORDING

Despite some drawbacks, RETM alloys in the form of amorphous thin films, have now proved their preeminence as rewritable recording media for magneto-optical data storage. Writing and read-out processes are described in terms of their magnetic, optical and structural properties. Future trends towards high storage densities are discussed through material and optics improvements and, therefrom, many possible applications for magneto-optical technology are considered.