DETERMINATION OF EASY AXIS DISTRIBUTION IN RECORDING MEDIA

Shtrikman and Treves [1] have described a method to determine the easy axis distribution in magnetic materials. In a previous paper [2] we have applied this technique to magnetic recording media although* this original theory is only strictly applicable to a 3-dimensional system. In this paper we report on a method for measuring the effective easy axis distribution of a two dimensional system, which is more applicable to recording media. The method is applied to cobalt-phosphorous thin films and to a conventional particulate tape. The method provides a useful quantitative analysis of magnetic texture. We also find that our measurement displays clearly the effects of interactions in the thin films. These interactions are not so great in the case of particulate media. © 1990 IEEE