Abstract: The extraordinary progress in magnetic peripheral storage systems has been fueled by the advancements in heads (MR, GMR, spin valves) and in very high coercivity, low remanence-thickness product (M(r)t) media. These advancements are imposing new performance requirements on the magnetometers (VSMs) used to characterize these materials. At the same time, they have introduced a new paradigm for in-process (nondestructive, robotic) magnetic metrology toots to assure the stringent product uniformity requirements. In this paper, we discuss the recent advancements in magnetometry for characterizing state-of-the-art media and heads, as well as other magnetic materials.

Key words: