Noise and bit jitter performance of CoNiPt thin film longitudinal recording media and its effect on recording performance

The authors investigate the hysteretic properties and the recording behavior, such as bit jitter, overwrite, resolution, and on-track and off-track noise, of thin-film media based on a CoNiPt alloy. The films consisted of one alloy composition, sputtered under different process conditions to create films of different microstructure, magnetic hysteresis loop squareness, and coercivities. The factors that contribute to the bit shift are classified as originating from intersymbol interference, overwrite and media noise, on the basis of the results of magnetic recording characterization of the media. Analysis of the microstructure and hysteretic properties indicates that the noise is associated with the formation of magnetic clusters