Curvature-Eliminating Head Field and Track Edge Characteristics in Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording

Transition curvature in heat-assisted magnetic recording can be eliminated by appropriately varying head field amplitude across recording track width. In this paper, we present a systematic micromagnetic study on the effects of non-vanishing field beyond track edges in practical head designs, focusing on the recording characteristics beyond track edges. It is found that a uniform field amplitude beyond track edges will create wing-like patterns beyond straightened transitions, forming erase bands at high linear densities. The width of the erase band decreases if the head field diminishes beyond track edges. However, for practical field reduction gradients beyond track edges, the width of the erase band still remains significant.