Advances in magneto optical static event detector technology

Magneto-optical static event detectors, introduced at the 1998 EOS/ESD Symposium, have been demonstrated as a useful tool to detect low-level transients that damage magnetoresistive (MR) and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) recording heads. Improvements in magneto-optic film characteristics, device design, and wafer fabrication methods will result in enhanced sensitivity to those transients. Improvements in packaging and performance repeatability are described.