Effects of Anisotropy Field Vector Distribution in a Recording Medium on Recording Characteristics--FEM Simulation with 3-D Magnetization Model

A three-dimensional model of medium magnetization was developed to analyze the recording performance of particulate coated media. Using an FEM program incorporating this model, we investigated the process of recording by a ring head with respect to the effects of changes in the distributions of the easy-axis direction and of the anisotropy field strength, that is, the distributions of the orientation, size and shape of particles. It was shown that a sharper anisotropy field distribution gives a larger remanent magnetization in the medium at higher recording densities, but a sharper easy-axis distribution does not improve the high-density recording characteristics, because an AC erasure-like effect becomes dominant, owing to the broad perpendicular field component of ring heads.