Thermal aspects of magneto-optical recording

We discuss the influence of thermal response on the magneto-optic readout performance of optically similar but thermally different quadrilayer media, using newly developed computational techniques for examining laser-induced heat flow in moving multilayer media. We first emphasize the importance of time scale for differentiating the write and read processes. We then show that the optimum design is a function of the medium velocity and available laser power for writing and is not normally one that provides maximum signal-to-noise ratio in the limit that laser heating during readout can be ignored. Finally, we describe a systematic approach to the selection of the best quadrilayer design for a given set of system conditions.