Mössbauer study of orientation of particles in magnetic recording tapes

Mössbauer spectrum method was applied on tapes prepared using γ-Fe2O3, cobalt-epitaxial iron oxides and Fe particles to estimate the direction of orientation of the particles in the tapes. The coercivity and the squareness of the tapes was in the range of about 340 to 1140 Oe and 0.82 to 0.86, respectively. The γ-ray was applied to the tapes from the direction of the tape travel and the direction perpendicular to the tape plane. The angle of the orientation of the particles in the tapes was 29 -34 degree from the direction of the tape travel. The direction of magnetic moment in remanent state determined by Mössbauer method nearly agreed with that determined by hysteresis measurement. In the remanent state, the degree of discrepancy between the direction of orientation of particles and the direction of magnetic moment in particles increased with decreasing coercivity. It was considered that the magnetic moment in particles with lower coercivity tended to be inclined to the direction of tape plane.