Time resolved imaging of magnetization dynamics in hard disk writer yokes excited by bipolar current pulses

Abstract

A partially built hard disk writer structure with a NiFe/CoFe/Ru/NiFe/CoFe synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) yoke was studied by time and vector resolved scanning Kerr microscopy. All three time dependent components of the magnetization were recorded simultaneously as a bipolar current pulse with 1 MHz repetition rate was delivered to the coil. The component of magnetization parallel to the symmetry axis of the yoke was compared at the pole and above a coil winding in the centre of the yoke. The two responses are in phase as the pulse rises, but the pole piece lags the yoke as the pulse falls. The Kerr signal is smaller within the yoke than within the confluence region during pulse cycling. This suggests funneling of flux into the confluence region. Dynamic images acquired at different time delays showed that the relaxation is faster in the centre of the yoke than in the confluence region, perhaps due to the different magnetic anisotropy in these regions. Although the SAF yoke is designed to support a single domain to aid flux conduction, no obvious flux beaming was observed, suggesting the presence of a more complicated domain structure. The SAF yoke writer hence provides relatively poor flux conduction but good control of rise time compared to single layer and multi-layered yokes studied previously.