Recording at a channel rate of over 200 Mb/s in a helical-scan tape system

In order to increase the channel rate in a helical-scan tape system, we have studied its recording characteristics using a magnetoresistive read head, a metal-in-gap write head, and a metal evaporated tape, and transmission through a rotary transformer. A sufficient signal-to-noise ratio for the streamer system was obtained in a test drive at a channel rate of 200 Mb/s. The potential of achieving a channel rate exceeding 200 Mb/s using a thin-film write head was also investigated.