Magneto-Optic Recording with a Compact Optical Head

Abstract

An erasable magneto-optical disk drive system employing polar Kerr effect readout has been developed within the 3.5 inch half-height form factor (41x101x146mm). The drive exhibits rapid seek times and data transfer rates greater than 1 Mbit/sec. The disk is contained in a cartridge and has a formatted user capacity greater than 50 MBytes. The system is ideal for the personal computer marketplace, giving the performance of a Winchester drive, the portability of a microfloppy and the advantages of optical recording.