How is data recorded on a hard disk drive?
Figure 1. When an external magnetic field is applied to a ferromagnet , such as iron, the atomic dipoles align themselves with it. Even when the field is removed, part of the alignment will be retained: the material has become magnetized . Once magnetized, the magnet will stay magnetized indefinitely . This is the effect that provides the element of memory in a hard disk drive. To demagnetize it requires a reverse polarity magnetic field in the opposite direction .
Plot of magnetization m against magnetic field h calculated using a theoretical model.
Starting at the origin, the upward curve is the initial magnetization curve . The downward curve after saturation, along with the lower return curve, form the main loop. The intercepts hc and mrs are the coercivity and saturation remanence . When an external magnetic field is applied to a ferromagnet such as iron, the atomic dipoles align themselves with it.
Even when the field is removed, part of the alignment will be retained : the material has become magnetized . Once magnetized, the magnet will stay magnetized indefinitely. To demagnetize it requires heat or a magnetic field in the opposite direction . This is the effect that provides the element of memory in a hard disk drive.
The relationship between field strength H and magnetization M is not linear in such materials. If a magnet is demagnetized (H=M=0) and the relationship between H and M is plotted for increasing levels of eld strength, M follows the initial magnetization curve.
This curve increases rapidly at first and then approaches an asymptote called magnetic saturation . If the magnetic field is now reduced monotonically, M follows a different curve. At zero field strength, the magnetization is oset from the origin by an amount called the remanence.
If the H-M relationship is plotted for all strengths of applied magnetic field the result is a hysteresis loop called the main loop. The width of the middle section is twice the coercivity of the material .