Hot-pressed Mn-Zn ferrite for magnetic recording heads

Hot-pressed ferrites have been studied in connection with fabrication of a high quality head material. A two-step hot-pressing technique has enabled the preparation of hot-pressed ferrite with a porosity lower than 0.1 percent and an adjusted average grain size between 0.1 μm and 500 μm. The largest available ingot of hot-pressed ferrite is 120 mm in diameter and 20 mm in thickness. A hot-pressed Mn-Zn ferrite with an adjusted microstructure can be made with a μ
m
of 40 000 and an H
c
lower than 0.02 Oe. A hot-pressed Mn-Zn ferrite of another composition will have a B
m
greater than 5000 G and a μ
0
of 700 at 10 MHz. The effect of mechanical working on magnetic properties of hot-pressed ferrites, single-crystal ferrites, and high-density ferrites is also described. The lapping characteristics and the wear problems in a ferrite head of hot-pressed, single-crystal, and high-density ferrite are also discussed.