Domain wall assisted magnetic recording

Using numerical and analytical micromagnetics the authors calculated the switching fields and energy barriers of the composite (exchange spring) magnetic recording media, which consist of layers with high and low magnetocrystalline anisotropies. The authors demonstrate that the ultimate potential of the composite media is realized if the interfacial domain wall fits inside the layers. The switching occurs via domain wall nucleation, compression in the applied field, depinning, and propagation through the hard/soft interface. The authors demonstrate that the domain wall assisted magnetic recording offers up to a threefold areal density gain over conventional single layer recording. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.