Patent ID: 8023218

Claim:
A method for recording comprising: providing a horizontally layered magnetic recording medium including at least one magnetic recording layer having magnetic anisotropy and coercivity for a recording purpose, at least one magnetostrictive layer having magnetostriction properties and at least one electrostrictive layer having electrostriction properties, wherein said layers are elastically coupled so that a strain produced by electrostriction of said at least one electrostrictive layer induces a magnetic response in said at least one magnetostrictive layer and said magnetic response produces a resulting change in the magnetic anisotropy of said at least one magnetic recording layer wherein said magnetic coercivity of said at least one magnetic recording layer is effectively reduced; then placing adjacent to said magnetic recording medium a recording head having both a structure for magnetic field generation and two structures for electric field generation; then using said recording head, generating a first electric field using a first of said two structures for electric field generation and, simultaneously therewith, generating a magnetic field wherein said first electric field and said magnetic field penetrate a first layered region of said magnetic recording medium such that, within said first layered region said first electric field induces electrostrictive strain in said electrostrictive layer and, by means of said elastic coupling, said electrostrictive strain produces a region of corresponding stress in said magnetostrictive layer and a resulting magnetic response, wherein said magnetic response produces a corresponding region of reduced coercivity in said magnetic recording layer, and wherein said simultaneously generated magnetic field writes data on said first region of said magnetic recording medium having an effectively reduced coercivity and; using a second of said two electric field generating structures, generating a second electric field at a position down-track from said first region at which data is being currently written and not overlapping with said first region, wherein said second electric field is of such a sign and magnitude as to depolarize a second region in said electrostriction layer and eliminate a remanent stress therein at a position at which magnetic data is about to be written.