A generalized slope model for magnetization transitions

Based on a multilayer approach, a generalized slope model is outlined for tape media with arbitrary magnetic layer thickness. A systematic study is performed which includes the role of demagnetization, angle dependence of the switching fields, switching field distribution, particle orientation, particle sizes, and geometric effects such as spacing between head and medium. The theoretical results are compared with experimental ones for high-density digital recording and yield excellent agreement between theory and experiment. Fundamentally, this type of lamina model is found to be incapable of treating magnetic screening effects correctly. In the case of metal evaporated (ME) tape with the easy axis tilted out of the film plane, this turns out to limit the usefulness of multilayer models for nonsaturation recording.