Thermal decay of longitudinal recording media with irregular grain shapes

The effect of irregular grain shapes on thermal decay has been studied using a micromagnetic model. Two methods of creating irregular grain shapes have been employed. One technique uses a method that simulates grain growth during the media deposition process. This technique intrinsically creates a log-normal grain volume distribution. A Monte Carlo technique is then used to simulate thermal decay for grains that are not exchange coupled. No approximations are used for the demagnetization fields or energy densities