Investigation of tape edge wear of magnetic recording tapes

Tape edge wear is studied for polyethylene naphthalate-based magnetic tape as a function of tape speed, tape tension, and tape guide surface roughness. The results show that tape edge wear is on the order of 0.04 nm per cycle at a constant force of 45 mN and that edge wear increases with increasing tape speed, tape tension and tape guide surface roughness. In addition, tape edge wear of three coated tapes with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and polyaramid (PA) substrate is studied. It is found that edge wear of polyaramid based tape is similar to that of PET-based and PEN-based tapes.