Data storage device comprising equalizer filter and inter-track interference filter

Description

BACKGROUND

Data storage systems such as disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.

FIG. 1 shows a prior art disk format 2 as comprising a number of servo tracks 4 defined by servo sectors 6₀-6_N recorded around the circumference of each servo track. Each servo sector 6_i comprises a preamble 8 for storing a periodic pattern, which allows proper gain adjustment and timing synchronization of the read signal, and a sync mark 10 for storing a special pattern used to symbol synchronize to a servo data field 12. The servo data field 12 stores coarse head positioning information, such as a servo track address, used to position the head over a target data track during a seek operation. Each servo sector 6, further comprises groups of servo bursts 14 (e.g., N and Q servo bursts), which are recorded with a predetermined phase relative to one another and relative to the servo track centerlines. The phase based servo bursts 14 provide fine head position information used for centerline tracking while accessing a data track during write/read operations. A position error signal (PES) is generated by reading the servo bursts 14, wherein the PES represents a measured position of the head relative to a centerline of a target servo track. A servo controller processes the PES to generate a control signal applied to a head actuator (e.g., a voice coil motor) in order to actuate the head radially over the disk in a direction that reduces the PES.

Data is typically written to data sectors within a data track by modulating the write current of a write element, for example, using a non-return to zero (NRZ) signal, thereby writing magnetic transitions onto the disk surface. A read element (e.g., a magnetoresistive (MR) element) is then used to transduce the magnetic transitions into a read signal that is demodulated by a read channel. The recording and reproduction process may be considered a communication channel, wherein communication demodulation techniques may be employed to demodulate the read signal.

When reading data from the disk, a read channel typically samples the read signal to generate read signal samples that are equalized according to a target response (e.g., a partial response). A data detector (e.g., a Viterbi detector) detects an estimated data sequence from the equalized samples, and errors in the estimated data sequence are corrected, for example, using a Reed-Solomon error correction code (ECC) or using a low density parity check (LDPC) algorithm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a prior art disk format comprising a plurality of servo tracks defined by servo sectors.

FIG. 2A shows a data storage device in the form of a disk drive according to an embodiment comprising a head actuated over a disk.

FIG. 2B is a flow diagram according to an embodiment wherein equalized samples are filtered with an inter-track interference (ITI) filter to generate ITI attenuated samples, and a data sequence is detected based on the ITI attenuated samples.

FIG. 2C shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the ITI filter comprises a transfer function 1−HPF(e_k).

FIG. 3 shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the noise sequence e_k is generated by computing a difference between the equalized samples and corresponding ideal samples generated based on the detected data sequence.

FIG. 4 shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the noise sequence e_k is generated by computing a difference between the equalized samples and corresponding ideal samples generated based on a test pattern written to the disk.

FIG. 5A shows a data storage device in the form of a disk drive according to an embodiment comprising a head actuated over a disk.

FIG. 5B is a flow diagram according to an embodiment wherein equalized samples are filtered with an inter-track interference (ITI) filter to generate ITI attenuated samples, and a data sequence is detected based on the ITI attenuated samples.

FIG. 5C shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the ITI filter comprises a transfer function 1−LPF(e_k).

FIG. 6 shows an ITI filter according to an embodiment wherein the HPF comprises a form y_k=αe_k−(αe_k-1+βy_k-1).

FIG. 7 shows an ITI filter according to an embodiment wherein the LPF comprises a form y_k=α(e_k+βe_k-1).

FIG. 8 shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the head comprises multiple read elements for generating multiple read signals that are equalized using a two-dimensional equalizer to generate the equalized samples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2A shows a data storage device in the form of a disk drive according to an embodiment comprising a head 16 actuated over a disk 18. The disk drive further comprises control circuitry 20 configured to execute the flow diagram of FIG. 2B which is understood with reference to FIG. 2C, wherein a read signal from the head is sampled to generate signal samples (block 22), and the signal samples are filtered with an equalizer filter to generate equalized samples (block 24). The equalized samples are filtered with an inter-track interference (ITI) filter to generate ITI attenuated samples (block 26), and a data sequence is detected based on the ITI attenuated samples (block 28). In the embodiment of FIG. 2C, the ITI filter 30 comprises a transfer function:
1−HPF(e_k)
where e_k represents a noise sequence in the equalized samples, and HPF represents a high pass filter operating on e_k.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the control circuitry 20 processes the read signal 32 emanating from the head 16 to demodulate servo sectors 34₀-34_N that define tracks 36. A position error signal (PES) is generated representing an error between the actual position of the head and a target position relative to a target track. A servo control system in the control circuitry 20 filters the PES using a suitable compensation filter to generate a control signal 38 applied to a voice coil motor (VCM) 40 which rotates an actuator arm 42 about a pivot in order to actuate the head 16 radially over the disk 18 in a direction that reduces the PES. The servo sectors 34₀-34_N may comprise any suitable head position information, such as a track address for coarse positioning and servo bursts for fine positioning. The servo bursts may comprise any suitable pattern, such as an amplitude based servo pattern or a phase based servo pattern (FIG. 1).

In the embodiment of FIG. 2C, the equalizer filter 44 may equalize the signal samples 46 based on any suitable criteria, such as equalizing the signal samples based on a suitable partial response (PR) signaling scheme. In addition, the data detector 48 may implement any suitable data detection algorithm, such as a maximum likelihood (ML) sequence detection algorithm (e.g., a Viterbi algorithm), or a suitable iterative algorithm (e.g., a low density parity check (LDPC) algorithm), a combination of the algorithms, or any other suitable algorithm. As the tracks 36 in FIG. 2A are squeezed closer together in an effort to increase the recording density, the read signal 32 generated while the head is tracking a target track will be distorted due to inter-track interference (ITI) from the adjacent tracks. This ITI from adjacent tracks reduces the efficacy of the data detector 48 to accurately detect the data sequence recorded in the target track.

Accordingly, in one embodiment an ITI filter is employed between the equalizer 44 and the data detector 48 which attenuates the ITI in the equalized samples 50 thereby generating ITI attenuated samples 52 processed by the data detector 48. In one embodiment, the ITI in the equalized samples 50 manifests in the higher frequency noise of the read signal. Accordingly, in the embodiment of FIG. 2C the ITI filter 30 comprises a transfer function which subtracts the high frequency noise from the equalized samples 50. In one embodiment, a noise sequence e_k in the equalized samples 50 is generated by computing a difference between the equalized samples 50 and corresponding ideal samples. This noise sequence e_k is then filtered by a high pass filter to extract the high frequency noise component which is subtracted from the equalized samples 50 as illustrated in FIG. 2C.

The noise sequence e_k representing the noise in the equalized samples 50 may be generated in any suitable manner. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment wherein the noise sequence 54 is generated based on the detected data sequence 56. The detected data sequence 56 is filtered by a target response 58 representing the target response of the recording channel to generate ideal samples 60. The equalized samples 50 are passed through a delay 62 that accounts for the delay of the data detector 48, and the delayed samples 64 are subtracted from the ideal samples 60 to generate the noise sequence e_k 54 processed by the ITI filter 30.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment for generating the noise sequence e_k representing the noise in the equalized samples 50. In this embodiment, a known test pattern 66 is written to the disk 18. When reading the known test pattern 66 from the disk 18, the test pattern 66 is filtered by the target response 58 to generate the ideal samples 60, and the equalized samples 50 are subtracted from the ideal samples 60 to generate the noise sequence e_k 54 processed by the ITI filter 30. The embodiment of FIG. 4 may be employed, for example, during a calibration procedure that calibrates parameters of the read channel, such as the equalizer 44 and/or the data detector 48. When reading user data during normal in-the-field read operations, the noise sequence e_k 54 may be generated based on the detected data sequence 56 as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5A shows a data storage device in the form of a disk drive according to an embodiment comprising a head 16 actuated over a disk 18. The disk drive further comprises control circuitry 20 configured to execute the flow diagram of FIG. 5B which is understood with reference to FIG. 5C, wherein a read signal from the head is sampled to generate signal samples (block 68), and the signal samples are filtered with an equalizer filter to generate equalized samples (block 70). The equalized samples are filtered with an inter-track interference (ITI) filter to generate ITI attenuated samples (block 72), and a data sequence is detected based on the ITI attenuated samples (block 74). In the embodiment of FIG. 5C, the ITI filter 76 comprises a transfer function:
1−LPF(e_k)
where e_k represents a noise sequence in the equalized samples, and LPF represents a low pass filter operating on e_k.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5C, the ITI in the equalized samples 50 manifests in the lower frequency noise of the read signal. Accordingly, in the embodiment of FIG. 5C the ITI filter 76 comprises a transfer function which subtracts the low frequency noise from the equalized samples 50. In one embodiment, a noise sequence e_k in the equalized samples 50 is generated by computing a difference between the equalized samples 50 and corresponding ideal samples. This noise sequence e_k is then filtered by a low pass filter to extract the low frequency noise component which is subtracted from the equalized samples 50 as illustrated in FIG. 5C.

The high pass filter (HPF) in the ITI filter 30 of FIG. 2C may be implemented in any suitable manner. FIG. 6 shows an embodiment wherein the high pass filter comprises a form:
y_k=αe_k−(αe_k-1+βy_k-1)
where y_k represents an output of the HPF, and α and β are coefficients. In one embodiment, the coefficients α and β are programmable and may be adapted during a calibration operation and/or in real-time while detecting user data during normal read operations. For example, the coefficients α and β may be adapted based on any suitable quality metric, such as bit error rate, log likelihood ratios of the data detector, number of detector iterations, or any other read channel parameter indicative of the quality of the ITI filter 30.

The low pass filter (LPF) in the ITI filter 76 of FIG. 5C may be implemented in any suitable manner. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment wherein the low pass filter comprises a form:
y_k=α(e_k+βe_k-1)
where y_k represents an output of the LPF, and α and β are coefficients. In one embodiment, the coefficients α and β are programmable and may be adapted during a calibration operation and/or in real-time while detecting user data during normal read operations. For example, the coefficients α and β may be adapted based on any suitable quality metric, such as bit error rate, log likelihood ratios of the data detector, number of detector iterations, or any other read channel parameter indicative of the quality of the ITI filter 76.

Any suitable equalizer 44 may be employed in the embodiment of FIG. 2C or 5C. FIG. 8 shows control circuitry according to an embodiment wherein the head 16 comprises multiple read elements for generating multiple read signals that are equalized using a two-dimensional equalizer 44A to generate the equalized samples 50. In one embodiment, during a read operation a first one of the read elements is positioned over a target data track and a second one of the read elements is positioned at least partially over a first adjacent data track. In an optional embodiment, a third read element may be positioned at least partially over a second adjacent data track. The two-dimensional equalizer 44A processes the multiple read signals to attenuate ITI in the equalized samples 50 representing the read signal for the target data track. However, certain constraints of the two-dimensional equalizer 44A (e.g., a limited number of taps) may leave a residual ITI in the equalized samples 50. Accordingly, in one embodiment the residual ITI in the equalized samples 50 may be further attenuated using the ITI filter 30 of FIG. 2C and/or the ITI filter 76 of FIG. 5C.

Any suitable control circuitry may be employed to implement the flow diagrams in the above embodiments, such as any suitable integrated circuit or circuits. For example, the control circuitry may be implemented within a read channel integrated circuit, or in a component separate from the read channel, such as a disk controller, or certain operations described above may be performed by a read channel and others by a disk controller. In one embodiment, the read channel and disk controller are implemented as separate integrated circuits, and in an alternative embodiment they are fabricated into a single integrated circuit or system on a chip (SOC). In addition, the control circuitry may include a suitable preamp circuit implemented as a separate integrated circuit, integrated into the read channel or disk controller circuit, or integrated into a SOC.

In one embodiment, the control circuitry comprises a microprocessor executing instructions, the instructions being operable to cause the microprocessor to perform the flow diagrams described herein. The instructions may be stored in any computer-readable medium. In one embodiment, they may be stored on a non-volatile semiconductor memory external to the microprocessor, or integrated with the microprocessor in a SOC. In another embodiment, the instructions are stored on the disk and read into a volatile semiconductor memory when the disk drive is powered on. In yet another embodiment, the control circuitry comprises suitable logic circuitry, such as state machine circuitry.

While the above examples concern a disk drive, the various embodiments are not limited to a disk drive and can be applied to other data storage devices and systems, such as magnetic tape drives, solid state drives, hybrid drives, etc. In addition, some embodiments may include electronic devices such as computing devices, data server devices, media content storage devices, etc. that comprise the storage media and/or control circuitry as described above.