A new high density magnetoresistive tape head

An 8-track magnetic tape head for high-frequency, high-density applications is described. It includes an unshielded magnetoresistive read head and two thin-film record heads for bidirectional operation with write verification. The MR sensors are biased by specially shaped thin-film permanent magnets (PM) that provide fields along both sensor axes to linearize output and eliminate Barkhausen noise. Nearly all films in the head are deposited using dry processes. Deposition conditions for the PM have been optimized to produce a high-coercivity, high-remanence isotropic film. The final head assembly has a contour that utilizes longitudinal slots to achieve intimate contact with low head-to-tape pressure. The associated data channel uses both read and write equalization to obtain the desired output pulse shape from the unshielded head