Reduction of pole tip recession in linear recording heads

Summary form only given. Using a range of experimental techniques, including optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), the major processes responsible for wear at the head to tape interface (HTI) of linear tape recording systems, and more specifically pole-tip recession (PTR), have been identified. Within a few tens of hours in sliding contact against a magnetic tape, the tape-bearing surface (TBS) ceramic (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/-TiC) is found to undergo a preferential removal of material from the TiC grain surface. This process results in the production of TiC flakes which fragment and become trapped in the recessed pole tip region, hence acting as three-body abrasive particles. This dramatically increases PTR. This mechanism is supported by the presence of TiC particles detected by AES in the pole tip area. To overcome this phenomenon, two solutions are considered. The first consists of coating the whole head surface with a protective layer. The second is to replace the Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/-TiC with a single-phase ceramic TBS.