Experimental analysis of tape noise

The mechanism of the tape medium noise is investigated by comparing the magnetization fluctuation resulting from an incremental DC erase process. It is found that the produced magnetization fluctuation displays contrasting behavior for recording heads with two very different gap lengths. A quantitative analysis of the medium noise mechanisms indicates that the sensitivity of the record head to spacing fluctuations explains these differences, and it is concluded that the main mechanism of the medium noise in advanced tape media is the head medium spacing fluctuation due to surface roughness.