Recent development of thin film materials for magnetic heads

Recent developments of soft magnetic film materials in the past decade are reviewed. Approximately 20 kinds of alloy systems with high saturation induction of more than 10 kG have been reported in the last decade, although there were only three conventional head materials: Mn-Zn ferrite, Permalloy, and Sendust. A particular focus of the review is nanocrystalline films and multilayer films. Also reviewed are improvements in single-layer homogeneous films of Fe, Fe-Si, Sendust, and Fe₁₆N₂. Almost all the materials reported are Fe-based alloys, and some alloys are nitrogen related: iron-nitride compounds or nitrogen-containing alpha -Fe or Sendust.