A 107-kbpi, 16- mu m track width recording channel

A 107-kbpi (4210 bits/mm) data channel was constructed using an 840-Oe-coercivity super-VHS tape and an unshielded magnetoresistive (UMR) head having a track width of 16 mu m and was used to explore the practical upper limits of areal storage density in magnetic recording. For a 16- mu m track width record head in a system with no guard bands, such as a helical recording system, the areal density would be 170 Mb/in/sup 2/. A