Magnetic medium storage apparatus with read channel having a programmable write-to-read suppression

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to devices which read information from a magnetic medium. More particularly, the invention concerns a user programmable control circuit and user interface to optimize write-to-read settling times of such a device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Magnetic recording devices are used to write information to a magnetic medium either in analog or digital form. The magnetic medium is typically a tape, such as used in the well known compact cassette or known high density drives for computers which are used for backup purposes. Another common form is a disc, such as a floppy disc or a hard disc for storing programs and data in a computer.

The read channel for a magnetic recording device includes a sensor in the form of a magneto-resistive head in close proximity with the magnetic medium. When the magnetic material is moved relative to the sensor, a flux is induced in the sensor in dependence of the local orientation of the magnetic material, thereby generating an information signal which can be amplified and then decoded.

When information is written in digital form, such as for computer data storage or digital recording of music, a current is generated by a write channel and passed through a thin film head in one direction to write a binary “0” and in the opposite direction to write a “1”. When the medium is read by the sensor, or read head, the portions recorded with a binary “0” will induce a current in the head in the one direction and portions recorded with a binary “1” will induce a current in the opposite direction, which is then decoded by a bit detector.

Hard disk drives typically include multiple magnetic discs, or platters, each side of which are used for reading and writing information. The read heads and write heads are mounted on arms positioned at each side of the disk, and in modern systems, servo patterns are embedded in radial patterns on the disk. Reading and writing are interchanged in conformance with the servo patterns.

Write-to-read settling time is an important specification because it impacts directly with drive capacity. Write-to-read settling time is defined to be the time required for the read channel to settle and be able to read the next servo field after the write channel has stopped writing. The gap on the magnetic disk between the end of the write sector and the start of the servo field is wasted area and hence should be minimized.

The disturbance to the read channel during write-to-read transition comes mainly from three sources. The first source is a flexible cable which is conventionally used to electrically couple the integrated circuit which embodies the read and write channel circuitry to the write heads and read sensors. This cable has multiple conductors in close proximity, which is a source of interference. The circuitry for the write channel and the read channel are typically embodied on a single integrated circuit, referred to in the art as a “preamplifier IC”. The preamplifier IC will have several read and write channels, grouped in read/write pairs for each read/write head combination in the device. The close physical proximity of the read channel circuitry and the write channel circuitry on the integrated circuit is a source of undesired capacitive coupling between the write and read channels. A third source of interference is from the connection pens, bond wires and bond pads on the integrated circuit, which may also be a source of unwanted coupling. The disturbances from each of these sources needs to be suppressed from propagating to the output of the read channel, so as to avoid errors in decoding the information read from the disc. On the other hand, excess suppression will also interfere with the proper reading of actual data.

The exact duration and nature of write-to-read disturbances are somewhat unpredictable. It depends on the assembly of the heads, sensors and flexible cable, as well as other sources as described above, and hence varies between models of hard disk drives assembled by a manufacturer of such devices. When designing a preamplifier IC, the designer must model the interference sources, based on design data provided by the disk drive manufacturer as well as past experience (if any) with other models of that manufacturer, to design a suitable filter for interference suppression for the read channel. After fabricating the preamplifier IC, the IC is tested in the intended hard disk of the manufacturer. If there is too little suppression or too much suppression, unacceptable read errors will occur and the designer will have to redesign the filters in the IC, necessitating changes to the mask set for the IC as well as re-fabrication of the preamplifier IC with the revised filters. Such an iterative process undesirably lengthens the design cycle, increasing costs for both the IC manufacturer and the manufacturer of the hard disk drive or other magnetic storage device.

Even after arriving at a suitable design for the preamplifier IC, the hard disk drive manufacturer still faces problems with chip-to-chip variations in the pre-amplifier ICs, as well as drive-to-drive variations in the assembly of the read sensors, write heads, flex cables and their interconnection with the preamplifier IC. While all elements may be “within spec”, the combination of several elements near their outer tolerance limits will often yield a hard disk drive with a read error rate outside of acceptable limits.

In the present state of the art, suitable tools are not available to the IC manufacturer to avoid the above-mentioned iterations in the design cycle nor for the drive manufacturer to easily fix read error problems arising from normal chip-to-chip variations and variations in the head/sensor/cable interconnect.

Accordingly, there is a need for a magnetic storage apparatus in which the manufacturer or other user may optimize the performance of the read channel before, during or after assembly. There is also a need for a magnetic storage apparatus with a control device in the read channel which is user programmable to reduce write-to-read settling time in an efficient manner. Additionally, there is a need for an integrated circuit having a read channel which can be programmed by the manufacturer of the integrated circuit or the manufacturer's customer to optimize write-to-read settling time.

These and other objects of the invention are satisfied according to a first aspect of the invention in which a magnetic information storage apparatus includes a write channel for writing information to a magnetic medium and a read channel for reading information from the magnetic medium. The read channel includes a sensor which generates an information signal in response to information stored on the magnetic medium and a signal path which amplifies the information signal from the sensor and provides an amplified information signal. The signal path has at least one control device which controls a zero of the signal path in a time-dependent manner, the control device being programmable to control the time dependent response of the zero.

When transitioning from a write mode in which the write channel is active to a read mode in which the read channel is active, the transition typically induces a write-to-read disturbance in the read channel. By placing an externally programmable control device in the read channel, the read channel can be adapted to variations which occur from model-to-model of a magnetic storage apparatus of a particular manufacturer. Alternatively, the read channel can be adapted to differences between magnetic storage devices of different manufacturers, so that a supplier of preamplifier IC's can satisfy the needs of multiple customers with only one integrated circuit design. Finally, it is now feasible for a manufacturer of magnetic storage devices to optimize performance to account for unit-to-unit variations within a model type.

Favorably, the programmability is accomplished via a user interface, such as a serial interface, which allows a user to enter values for one or more variables which control the control device.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the control device includes a filter having the zero, the filter varying the zero from a first frequency to a second, lower frequency in a time-dependent manner related to a time duration of the write-to-read disturbance. The inventors have found that in a magnetic storage device for high speed applications the write-to-read disturbance is characterized by an initial high peak and a relatively long tail in which the disturbance decays from the peak to a minimal value. By varying the frequency of the zero (i.e. the low corner frequency) in the aforementioned manner, the attenuation in the filter is varied in a manner related to the amplitude of the disturbance so that high filtering occurs when the amplitude of the disturbance is high and low filtering occurs when the amplitude of the signal is low. This optimizes the reduction of the settling time, and avoids read errors which would occur if the filtering was, for example, fixed at a high level.

According to another aspect of the invention, the zero in the read channel is provided by a low pass filter in a feedback path of the read channel. The low pass filter has a pole which is variable, for example by a variable capacitance, to vary the location of the zero in the forward path. In a read channel having a plurality of gain stages, it is desirable that the time-dependent zero is in the “back end” of the signal path, i.e. closer to the output of the signal path than the first gain stage. This helps in reducing DC offset of the read channel. Offset is the difference between the differential DC component at the output when the differential DC component at the input is zero, and is caused by mismatches of components of the amplifier stages, branch currents, and parasitic resistances in wiring.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the user interface enables programming of at least one of: (a) the duration of time the zero is at the first frequency, (b) the rate of change of the zero from the first frequency to the second frequency, and (c) a gain of the control device.

According to still another aspect of the invention, the signal path includes a first gain stage coupled to the sensor which forms the control device. A zero of the read channel is controlled by a transconductance stage with a variable pole in a feedback path of the first gain stage, which in turn is varied by varying a dc gain of a feedback amplifier in the feedback path. In an embodiment, a current bias circuit coupled to the transconductance stage varies the gain thereof, and a controllable pulse generation circuit coupled to the current bias circuit generates a pulse to control the bias current supplied by the bias circuit to the transconductance stage.

According to another aspect of the invention, a characteristic of the pulse is programmable to control at least one of: (a) a duration of the low corner frequency at a high initial frequency, (b) an amplitude of the bias current to the feedback transconductance stage, which controls gain and hence the pole of the feedback amplifier, and (c) the transition of the zero from the high frequency to the low frequency.

Favorably, optimum control of the settling time of the read channel is provided in a magnetic storage apparatus having a control element in the first gain stage as well as in a “back-end” stage as described above.

Another aspect of the invention is an integrated circuit for use in a magnetic storage device includes a read channel with one or more of the above mentioned features.

These and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description and the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a magnetic recording apparatus and preamplifier IC according to the invention;

FIG. 2A is a graph illustrating a transient disturbance arising at the front end of a read channel as a result of a transition from a write-to-read state of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a graph of the gain of a filter having a time-dependent frequency characteristic;

FIG. 3A is a simplified block diagram of a preamplifier integrated circuit according to the invention with a filter as in FIG. 2B in the forward signal path;

FIG. 3B is a simplified block diagram of a preamplifier integrated circuit in which the filter in the forward is embodied by a low pass filter in a feedback path having a time-dependent low corner frequency.

FIG. 4 a is a circuit diagram showing exemplary circuits for the gain stages 115 and 120 of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 4 b is a circuit diagram showing exemplary circuits for the LPF 135 and differential Gm f 140 stages of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 5 is circuit diagram of an exemplary circuit 170 for generating the control voltages for the LPF 135 ;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the time-dependent qualities of the control signals for the LPF 135 ;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating a second embodiment to provide a variable capacitance with low switching transients of the LPF 135 ;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a read channel of a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus having a serial interface for programming write-to-read control circuitry;

FIG. 9 illustrates the different amplitude, width and slope of pulses controlling the feedback transconductor of the first stage by different settings of IbpA, IbpW and W2RINTDEL1 of the register 205 ;

FIG. 10 illustrates the effect of the first stage FBA on a write-to-read disturbance;

FIG. 11 shows the frequency response of the read channel with the feedback loop of LPF 135 and Gm stage 140 , illustrating the shifting of the LCF from a high frequency to filter switching disturbances to a lower frequency for the settled read mode; and

FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating the significant reduction of write-to-read settling time with the preamplifier IC according to the invention.

I. Reducing Write-to-Read Settling Time by Using Time-Dependent Filter

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of one type of magnetic storage device 10 according to the invention, in this case a hard disk drive for mass storage of data. The device 10 includes a plurality of magnetic disks (of which only two ( 1 A, 1 B) are shown for purposes of clarity), and a plurality of pairs of write heads 2 A 1 , 2 A 2 ; 2 B 1 , 2 B 2 and read sensors 3 A 1 , 3 A 2 ; 3 B 1 , 3 B 2 mounted on respective servo controlled arms 4 which position the heads and sensors radially relative to corresponding sides of the spinning disks 1 . The servo control of the arms and of the speed of the spinning disks is well known in the art and not pertinent to the present invention, but will be understood to include various servo motors, sensors and control circuits therefor.

A preamplifier IC 5 includes a plurality of write channels 6 A 1 , 6 A 2 ; 6 B 1 , 6 B 2 and a plurality of read channels 7 A 1 , 7 A 2 ; 7 B 1 ; 7 B 2 , each write channel driving a respective write head to write information to a respective side of a disk 1 A, 1 B and each read channel driving a read sensor to read information from a respective side of a disk 1 A, 1 B. These write and read channels, grouped conventionally in a pair wise configuration, form a part-per-head (or head interface) portion 5 A of the preamplifier IC. The IC 5 is coupled to the read sensors and write heads via a flexible cable interconnect 8 , which electrically connects the write heads and read sensors to the read and write channels through connection pins/bumps 9 of the preamplifier IC 5 . The IC 5 further includes a back-end read portion 5 C and a front-end write portion 5 B. The front-end read portions contain a first gain stage for each read sensor, while the back-end read stage contains a plurality of gain stages and control circuitry common to all of the front-end read channels and is selectively coupled to a front-end read channel 7 A 1 , 7 A 2 , 7 B 1 , 7 B 2 depending on which read sensor is selected to read information from a disk 1 A, 1 B.

The preamplifier IC 5 in a hard disk drive is coupled to a further IC 11 which, for reading information, includes at least an equalizer and a bit detector.

As previously mentioned, when the disk drive apparatus transitions from writing information to a disk to reading information from a disk, this write-to-read transition induces spurious disturbances into the read channels due to the interconnect 8 , the connections pins and bond wires 9 , and the close physical proximity of read and write channel front-end circuitry on the IC 5 . FIG. 2A is a graph which illustrates a voltage waveform of a typical disturbance caused by a write-to-read transition. At time “I”, the write-to-read transition occurs and the disturbance rapidly peaks to a peak P during time period A. The disturbance rapidly decays through zero volts at time B, to a negative peak (“−P”) at a time C. Over a period of time (e.g. periods C-F, . . . n), on the order of micro-seconds, the disturbance has a long tail and decays from the negative peak towards zero volts. The waveform of FIG. 2A is for illustration purposes only, and each combination of read sensor, write head, flexible interconnect and preamplifier IC will generate a proportionally different waveform. However, the present inventors have found that the waveforms for write-to-read disturbances in a high speed hard disk drive typically have a hign initial peak, a negative peak and decay over time (e.g. periods A-F, . . . n) with a long tail, and are measurable and characterizable through component testing.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a read channel 100 according to the invention having a plurality of gain stages, for example 3-5 stages, to amplify the signal from a read sensor 3 so that it can be decoded by a decoding circuit within the read/write channel IC. An MR read sensor 3 is coupled to an output buffer 130 via a plurality of gain stages 110 , 115 , 120 and 125 (Gm 1 , Gm n , G n+1 , Gm n+2 ) in the forward signal path 160 of the read channel 100 . Together, the gain stages 110 , 115 , 120 and 125 provide an amplified information signal via output buffer 130 to an equalizer 145 and a bit detector 150 , which together form part of a decoder circuit, and which converts the analog information signal into a train of successive digital bits. The train of successive digital bits is then decoded according to an algorithm, depending on how the information was encoded when written to the magnetic medium.

In order to suppress transients introduced at the front-end of the read channel (i.e. stage 110 ) so that they do not reach the output of buffer 130 , a filter 155 having a time-dependent gain characteristic is introduced in the forward signal path 60 of read channel 100 . FIG. 2B illustrates the function of the filter 155 . At an initial time period A in FIG. 2A corresponding to the peak period of the write-to-read transition, the filter has a relatively high LCFA (low gain) exemplified by the line “A”. With increasing time, the LCF of the filter 155 is decreased in a fashion generally corresponding to the decay characteristic of the write-to-read disturbance, as illustrated by the time-wise shift (right-to-left in FIG. 2B) of the LCF of filter 155 . Thus, at a time C in which the amplitude (frequency) of the disturbance is generally expected to be less than at a time A as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the time-dependent filter will have a correspondingly increased gain (reduced attenuation) at a given frequency. At a time “n” when the amplitude (frequency) of the disturbance is minimal, the filter 155 will have an LCF (LCF,) and a gain “n” selected to not adversely effect the proper reading of data from the magnetic medium by the read sensor. The time starting with time “n” and thereafter is considered the “settled” state of the read channel when in the READ mode. The number of steps in the gain of the filter is for illustration purposes only, and may vary according to the needs of the application.

The gain stage 110 is in the front-end portion of IC 5 , and one such gain stage 110 is present for each read channel. The gain stages 115 , 120 , 125 , filter 155 and output buffer 130 are in the back-end circuitry of IC 5 and are common to all of the read channels. The equalizer 145 and bit detector 150 are conventionally on a separate IC 11 .

Favorably, the zero is introduced in the “back-end” circuits of the read channel to more effectively reduce offsets. By “back-end” circuits is meant the gain stages closer to the buffer 130 than the initial gain stage 110 . By placing the zero close to the output, there are no or only few subsequent stages to introduce offset, and conversely the zero reduces the offset of all the prior circuitry. In FIG. 3A, the filter is shown connected to output buffer 130 .

As used herein, a “pole” is defined as the value of the complex variable s=jω=j2πf for which the transfer function A(s)=(infinity). A “zero” is defined as the value of s, where A(s)=0. Alternatively, as the context requires, the pole or zero is also referred to in terms of the frequency at which the transfer function is infinity or zero, respectively.

In a favorable embodiment (FIG. 3 B), the filter 155 in the forward path is embodied by a low pass filter (“LPF”) 135 in a feedback path 165 around a unity gain stage 120 in the forward path, the unity gain stage being implemented as an emitter-follower. The LPF 135 has a single (dominant) pole which can be varied from a fairly high frequency F 1 to a lower frequency F 2 . This circuit, when in closed loop configuration, introduces a zero in the forward path. The location of this zero is varied from a high frequency F A to a low frequency F n as a result of varying the frequency of the pole in the feedback path from a high frequency F 1 to the lower frequency F 2 . Varying the location of the pole of LPF 155 varies the LCF of the zero created thereby in the forward path 160 , in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 B.

Explained in a different way, as shown in FIG. 2A, write-to-read transients are at a lower frequency than the signal frequency being read. In a time domain, the first peak portion (from point I to B) is at a frequency higher than the tail portion starting from point B to point n. This information about the nature of write-to-read disturbance frequencies is used to vary the LCF of the signal path in the present invention. For the time period during the peak portion, the LCF should be higher than the frequency of pulse I-P-B. After point B, to suppress the tail portion, the LCF can be smaller.

After a READ signal is switched ON to activate the read channel 100 , for an initial small duration of time (of the order of 100 ns) when the transients from the read front-end are very large (e.g. time period A in FIG. 2 A), the effective zero in the forward path is kept at a high frequency F A . This filters away most of the write-to-read disturbances from reaching the output buffer 130 , since the high frequency F A is higher than the frequencies of the write-to read disturbances, so maximum attenuation of the initial peal P (FIG. 2A) is achieved. After the initial duration A, the effective LCF in the forward path is moved through lower frequencies F B , F C , F D generally corresponding to the times B, C, D in FIG. 2 A. Ultimately, the LCF reaches frequency F n , where it is kept while the read channel is in the READ mode. This transition From F A through F n corrects the long tail of the write-to-read disturbance. Thus, the LCF of the effective filter 155 in the forward path is moved in such a manner that the there is maximum attenuation when the magnitude and frequency of the disturbance is high and lower attenuation when the amplitude and frequency of the disturbance is low. The end point of the LCF is such that it doesn't interfere with normal reading of data; i.e. the frequency of the LCF is much lower than the data frequency.

This will also simultaneously greatly reduce the offset of the entire read channel. Since the gain of stage 120 is unity, the reduction in offset is roughly proportional to the inverse of the gain of the feedback path 165 . More precisely, the transfer function is equal to (A 120 /(1+(A 120 ) (A 165 )) , where A 120 is the gain of stage 120 (unity) and A 165 is the combined gain of the LPF 135 and of the Gm stage 140 . In the present embodiment, the combined gain of stages 135 and 140 is about 8 at LCF n , so the offset is reduced by a factor of 9.

The output of the LPF 135 is a voltage signal. A Gm f feedback stage 140 is included in the feedback path 165 to convert the voltage output of LPF 135 to a current for feeding back to the forward path at the output of the prior gain stage (in this case stage 115 ). Here, the feedback loop 165 is shown around the gain stage 120 instead of around the last gain stage 125 .

FIG. 4 a shows a circuit diagram of the gain stage 115 and the unity gain stage 120 , which operates between an upper voltage supply rail VP and a lower voltage supply rail VN. The gain stage 115 includes cascode transistors Tc 1 , Tc 2 coupled between load resistors RL 1 , RL 2 and transconductance transistors T 1 n , T 1 p , respectively. The gain of this stage is equal to the ratio R 11 /Re 1 (R 11 =R 12 ; Re 1 =Re 2 ). The output signal currents from the Gm stage 140 are fed back to below the cascode transistors Tc 1 , Tc 2 so that the Gm stage 140 does not capacitively load the forward path signal path. Since stage 115 is a transconductance stage (without considering load resistors R 11 /R 12 ), the input signal voltage Vip, Vin from the prior gain stage(s), applied at the bases of the transistors T 1 n , T 1 p are converted to currents igp, ign by these devices. The currents Gpcp, Gpcn from the Gm stage 140 are subtracted therefrom, and applied across the load resistors RL 1 , RL 2 to provide signal voltages gop, gon for the stage 120 .

Circuit branch 120 a of stage 120 includes a first bipolar transistor T 2 n and a current source I 3 biasing the emitter of the transistor T 2 n , and a circuit branch 120 b with a current source I 4 biasing the emitter of a second bipolar transistor T 2 n . The differential voltages gop and gon are applied to the bases of the transistors T 2 p , T 2 n . The outputs are differential voltages folp, foln which are fed to the LPF 135 , as well as to the the next gain stage 125 . Since the stage 120 is an emitter-follower and functions as a unity gain buffer, the differential output voltages are approximately of the same magnitude as the differential input voltages for this stage.

FIG. 4 b shows the circuit diagram for the time variant LPF 135 and the gm stage 140 . The LPF (also referred to as an integrator) includes a number of MOS switches and capacitors to vary the location of the pole of the LPF 135 . The inputs to the LPF are voltage signals foln, folp, which are the differential outputs from the stage (Gm n+1 ) 120 . The signals foln, folp are coupled to the bases of bipolar transistors T 3 p , T 3 n . The emitter of each of the transistors T 3 p , T 3 n is coupled to a current source I 5 via respective resistors R 6 , R 7 , the output of current source I 5 being coupled to a lower voltage suppler rail VN. The collector of the transistor T 3 n is coupled via line L 1 to the output of a current source I 6 which is coupled in parallel with a load resistance R 4 . Similarly, the collector of the transistor T 3 p is coupled via line L 2 to a current source I 7 , also in parallel with a small load resistance R 5 . The purpose of the current sources I 6 , I 7 is to effectively choose the operating point of nodes Ipfn, Ipfp (otherwise it would be (I 5 /2*RL). Coupled between the lines L 1 and L 2 are a plurality of capacitors C 0 , C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and Cn with capacitor C 0 being fixed and the remaining capacitances being controllable. The capacitors C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and Cn are coupled, respectively, to the lines L 1 and L 2 via MOS devices M 1 A, M 1 B; M 2 A, M 2 B; M 3 A, M 3 B and MnA, MnB. The gates of the devices M 1 A, M 1 B receive a control voltage V 1 , the gates of the devices M 2 A, M 2 B receive a control voltage V 2 , the gates of the devices M 3 A, M 3 B receive a control voltage V 3 , and, likewise, the gates of the devices MnA, MnB receive a control voltage Vn. The control voltages are provided to selectively couple the capacitors C 1 -Cn between lines L 1 and L 2 to vary the location of the pole of LPF 135 . The outputs of the LPF 135 are differential voltages Lpfn, Lpfp.

These differential outputs are provided to a further emitter-follower buffer stage including current sources I 8 , I 9 which bias respective bipolar transistors T 4 p , T 4 n . The differential outputs of this stage are signal voltages Lpfbn, Lpfbp.

The feedback gm stage 140 includes a first branch 140 a , and a second branch 140 b . The first branch 140 a includes a bipolar transistor T 5 p having a collector, a base coupled go receive the first differential input voltage Ipfbn, and an emitter biased by a current source 110 . Similarly, the second branch includes bipolar transistor T 5 n having a collector, a base coupled to receive the differential input voltage Ipfbp and an emitter biased by the current source I 10 . The emitters of the transistors T 5 p , T 5 n are coupled to the current source I 10 via respective resistors R 15 , R 16 . Additionally, a current sources I 11 and a current source I 12 are coupled, respectively, in the branches 140 a , 140 b between upper supply rail VP and the collectors of the transistor T 2 n , T 2 p.

The outputs of the gm stage 140 are the currents Gpcp and Gpcn provided at outputs 43 , 44 , which are coupled to the prior amplifier stage 115 (Gm n ) in the forward signal path (as shown in FIG. 4 A). The current source I 10 provide a bias current to the emitters of the transistors T 5 n , T 5 p . Being a transconductance stage, the transistors T 5 n , T 5 p convert the differential small signal voltage Lpfbn, Lpfbp, into currents Gfcp, Gfcn which are proportional to the signal voltages Lpfbn, Lpfbp. The current sources I 11 , I 12 replace the current drawn by the collectors of the transistors T 5 n , T 5 p so that the DC current at the outputs Gfcp, Gfcn is substantially zero, and therefor does not load and effect the operation of the prior gain stage 115 . Ideally, currents I 11 =I 12 =(I 10 /2) so that during operation of the read channel no DC current flows through the load resistor RL of the forward signal path.

The MOS switches in LPF 135 have to be switched very slowly, in order to minimize transients. FIG. 5 shows one possible implementation of a circuit 170 which generates the control voltages VC 1 -VCn to drive the gate of the MOS switches in LPF 135 , to achieve the time-dependent movement of the pole of the LPF 135 from the initial relatively high frequency F 1 to the lower frequency F 2 . In this example, an R-C ladder structure is used to generate the control voltages in response to a READ control signal received at the input RdDEL. The outputs of the circuit 170 are the control voltages VC 1 , VC 2 , VC 3 and VCn which control the MOS switches of the variable capacitor circuit of LPF 135 (FIG. 4 B).

The READ control signal received at input RdDEl drives the gates of a PMOS switch T 672 and an NMOS switch T 673 , which together define a switchable current path 679 between supply rails VP, VN through a resistor R 651 . The current path 679 is coupled to drive the gates of a second pair of PMOS, NMOS transistors T 674 , T 675 via resistor R 652 . The capacitor C 660 and the resistor R 651 , and the capacitor C 662 and the resistor 652 define a first RC time constant. The transistors T 674 , T 675 have main current paths which define a second switchable current path 680 between rails VP, VN through serially coupled resistors R 653 , R 654 . The current path 680 is coupled to drive the gates of a third pair of PMOS, NMOS transistors T 676 , T 677 which together similarly define a third switchable current path 681 through a resistor R 655 . The transistor T 678 is coupled around the resistor R 653 . When a control signal VC 2 DEL is applied to the gate of the transistor T 678 to render it non-conductive, a second RC time constant is defined by the combination of the two resistors R 653 , R 654 and the two capacitors C 664 , C 665 . When a control signal VC 2 DEL is supplied to render the transistor T 678 conductive, the resistor R 653 is shunted and a fourth time constant is defined by the combination of the resistor R 654 and the two capacitors C 663 , C 664 which is shorter than the third time constant. The third and fourth time constants define the time period between when the switches T 674 , T 675 turn on and when the switches T 676 , T 677 turn on. The combination of a fifth time constant defined by the RC pair of a resistor R 655 and a capacitor C 666 and of a sixth time constant defined by the RC pair of a resistor R 656 and a capacitor C 668 controls the time period between the turning on of the switches T 676 , T 677 and the generation of the control voltage VC 3 . Subsequent time constants which define the time lapse between the generation of the control signal VC 4 and VC 3 , and between VCn and VC 4 are defined by the further RC pairs R 657 , C 669 ; R 658 , C 670 ; and R 659 , C 671 .

The circuit 170 operates as follows. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the input RdDEL transitions from a logic low to a logic high (corresponding to a write-to-read transition), the switch T 672 turns off and the switch T 673 begins to turn on when RdDel reaches the threshold voltage of switch T 673 , about 0.7 V. This couples the lower supply rail VN to generate the control signal VC 2 controlled by the RC time constant of the resistors R 651 , R 652 and capacitors C 660 and C 662 . The signal VC 1 , as shown in FIG. 6 is initially high, due to the previous state of the signal RdDel being logic low. As this signal VC decreases, the NMOS switch T 675 turns off and the PMOS switch T 674 turns on. This couples the gates of the further switches T 676 , T 677 to the supply rail VP, which turns on the switch T 677 and turns off the switch T 676 . When switch T 677 turns on, the outputs VC 2 , VC 3 through VCn are coupled to the rail VN, generating the control voltages VC 2 , VC 3 , VCn at these outputs with time delays based on the intervening time constants between the respective delay and the switch T 677 . The switch T 678 serves as an adjustment switch to optionally change the the time contants between the control signals VC 1 and VC 2 , by switching creating a shunt around the resistor R 653 with the control signal VC 2 del.

The control input signals INTPULSE, Rddel, and Rddel 2 and control voltages VC 1 to VC 4 generated by circuit 170 and driving the MOS switches in LPF 35 would typically appear as shown in FIG. 6 . The slow switching signals for the MOS switches of the variable capacitor of FIG. 4B can be generated in several other ways, which could be easily implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the example of FIG. 5 and the waveforms of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 7 is an alternative embodiment of the variable capacitance circuit within LPF 135 . A key requirement of a preamplifier circuit with respect to entering the steady read mode is the absence of DC transients above 20 mV. In other words, the steady read mode is defined as beginning upon the last occurrence of a differential DC transient above this level. Accordingly, it is important that the switching of the capacitors in the LPF not induce differential DC transients. The present inventors recognized that this could occur if the voltage on each node of a capacitor C 2 -Cn in LPF 135 were different when that capacitor was switched into the circuit, as different voltages would cause the capacitor to discharge, rapidly creating transient currents. Additionally, it is important that prior to the initiation of the read mode the capacitances are not reflected to the nodes Lpfn, Lpfp, so that the pole of filter 135 starts at a high frequency prior to the capacitors C 1 -Cn being switched into the circuit.

FIG. 7 shows capacitors C 0 -Cn and PMOS switches M 1 A-M 1 n , M 1 B-M 1 n corresponding to FIG. 4 B. Additionally, FIG. 7 shows circuitry which equalizes the voltage on the nodes on either side of the capacitors C 1 -Cn prior to the capacitor being switched into the circuit. A transistor T 81 A is coupled in the branch L 3 and has its emitter coupled to the collector of a diode connected transistor T 82 A. The base of the transistor T 81 A is coupled to branch L 1 , and is at the same potential as node Lpfn. Thus, the base of the transistor T 82 A is one diode drop below node Lpfn. Transistor T 83 A has its base coupled to the base of the transistor T 82 A and its emitter coupled to the rail VP via a current source I 13 . The node LpfmA, between the current source I 13 and the emitter of the transistor T 83 A is one diode drop above the base of transistor T 82 A, so is at the same voltage as node Lpfn. The difference in base-emitter voltages due to different currents and mismatches in transistors is accounted for by appropriate dimensioning of the transistors T 82 A, T 83 A to achieve voltage equivalence between nodes Lpfn and LpfmA. The transistors T 81 B, T 82 B, T 83 B are coupled in a corresponding manner to the circuit branches L 2 , L 4 , L 6 , so that the node LpfmB is at the same potential as node Lpfp in branch L 2 . The control gate of PMOS equalization transistors M 1 C, M 1 D are coupled to the input RdDel and the control gate of PMOS transistors M 1 A, M 1 B are coupled to receive control voltage VC 1 of FIG. 5 . Similarly, the gates of PMOS equalization transistors M 2 C,M 2 D; M 3 C; M 3 D and MnC; MnD are coupled to receive the signal Rddel 2 and the gates of the PMOS transistors M 2 A,M 2 B; M 3 A, M 3 B and MnA,MnB receive the control voltages VC 2 , VC 3 , VCn.

With reference to FIG. 6, the signal VC 1 is initially high and the signals RdDel and Rddel 2 are initially low. Thus, the equalization switches M 1 C-MnC and M 1 D-MnD are initially conductive and couple each of the capacitors C 1 -Cn to the nodes LPFMA, Lpfmb. Both nodes are coupled to the same DC potential thereby. Furthermore, because the nodes LpfmA, LpfmB are coupled to the nodes Lpfn, Lpfp through two emitter followers (formed by the transistors T 81 A, T 82 A; T 82 A, T 82 B) the capacitance of devices C 1 -Cn is reduced by a factor of β 2 and are substantially not reflected to the nodes Lpfn, Lpfp, so that the cut-off frequency of filter 135 is primarily determined by the capacitance of device C 0 . When Rddel goes high, switches M 1 C and M 1 D turn off, as signal VC 1 goes low and switches M 1 A, M 1 B turn on to bring capacitor C 1 into circuit. When signal VC 1 turns switch M 1 A, M 1 B on, both sides of the capacitor C 1 will have been at the same potential, so DC switching transients are minimized. Note that devices C 2 -Cn are still decoupled from the filter in the AC sense by equalization switches M 2 C-MnC; M 2 D, Mnd and their corresponding emitter-followers so that their capacitance does not influence the relatively high pole determined by capacitance C 1 . Signal Rddel 2 then goes logic high, turning equalization switches M 2 C-MnC off, and signals VC 2 -VCn then go logic low is succession to further reduce the pole frequency of LPF 135 .

Switches M 1 C-MnC and M 1 D-MnD introduce gate-source and gate-drain capacitances into the LPF 135 , and thus may introduce their own current transients upon switching. To counteract this problem, a number of compensating PMOS transistors (M 2 An-MnAa; M 1 Cn-MnCn; M 2 Bn-MnBn; M 1 Dn-MnDn) are provided corresponding to respective ones of the PMOS switches M 2 A-MnA; M 1 C-MnC; M 2 B-MnB; M 1 D-MnD. The compensating PMOS transistors have their drains coupled to their sources, effectively doubling their capacitive effect and allowing these compensating devices to be substantially reduced in size. Since the source and drains are connected to each other, these PMOS devices do not function as switches, but as capacitors. The compensating PMOS devices are provided with a charging signal at their gates, at the same time their respective equalizing PMOS switches are driven, which charging signal is selected to induce a charge therein of the opposite sense as the charge induced in the respective equalization switch when it is switched. In this manner, the charging signals can be selected to reduce transient currents based on the actual transients induced in the IC by the equalization switches, whereas a fixed compensating capacitor could not. Thus, the compensating PMOS devices minimize transients and ensure that the equalization circuitry doesn't degrade its own performance with respect to reducing the settling time of write-to-read disturbances.

The MOSFET switches T 85 , T 86 receive signal INTON which controls whether the LPF 135 is on or off. The switch T 4 receives a control signal INTGAIN, and switches the resistor R 2 into and out of circuit with the resistor R 1 . The resistors R 1 , R 2 determine the DC gain of LPF 135 and signal INTGAIN is used to switch the LPF 135 between a high and a low gain mode. This provides a different gain control mechanism than the variable capacitance circuitry, which varies the pole of the LPF.

II) Optimization of Write-to-Read Settling Time Through a Serial Interface Register

It is favorable if the programmability of write-to-read settling time in the read channels is programmable. This will enable a user of the preamplifier IC to program the suppression characteristics in each preamplifier IC to fine tune variations in write-to-read disturbances in each hard disk drive, thereby optimizing performance. In one embodiment, programmablility is achieved through a serial interface connection with the preamplifier IC. Registers in the serial interface are designated to turn the “knobs” of various control elements in the read channel which control write-to-read suppression.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of one embodiment illustrating the programming of a preamplifier IC through a user interface. Elements corresponding to those in previous Figures bear the same reference numbers. In this embodiment, the read channel includes two programmable control elements which control the write-to-read suppression. The first control element is in the first gain stage 110 coupled to a read sensor 3 . The second control element is a “back-end” control circuit W 2 RINT 180 corresponding to the LP 7 135 and Gm stage 140 in combination with the control circuit 170 of FIG. 5 . Both of these control elements are controlled by the contents of a serial interface register 205 of a serial interface 200 . This serial interface register is an eight bit register storing the following variables (in the order of most-significant-bit (MSB) to least-significant-bit (LSB)): BCPW, IBFALL, IBPA, IBPW, W2RINTDEL2, W2RINTDEL1, W2RINTG and W2RINTON.

As shown here, the first gain stage 110 has cross coupled capacitors C 115 , C 116 and a feedback amplifier (“FBA”) 110 e between the differential outputs 110 c , 110 d and the cross-coupled capacitors. This first gain stage 110 with cross-coupled capacitors is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,646 (Voorman et al), incorporated herein by reference. This gain stage 110 also includes a conventional common mode control circuit which controls the common mode DC voltage.

Varying the gain of the feedback amplifier 110 e controls the low corner frequency, in other words a zero, of the first stage 110 . The feedback amplifier 110 e is a transconductance (Gm)stage whose gain is controlled by a biasing current Ib supplied to it from a digital-to-analog converter (“DAC”) 112 . The current Ib is controlled by a control pulse IBPULSE supplied to DAC 112 by a pulse generation circuit 210 . It is noted that it is known in the art to vary the current Ib to change the corner frequency of the first stage between two frequencies and to control the timing of the switchover with a controlled pulse signal. These function are present in Philips Semiconductors' TDA 5360 preamp circuit. However, the changeover is controlled internally, and no programmability through a user interface is available.

The write-to-read circuit senses the onset of the write-to-read transition (“WRT”) moment, which is graphically illustrated in chart 9 A of FIG. 9 . (The write-to-read transition is known from a control signal in the magnetic storage apparatus which controls when the apparatus switches from the write mode to the read mode). The control pulse IBPULSE, illustrated in chart 9 B, is supplied by the pulse generation circuit 210 . Three of the eight register bits control this bias current. The register bit IBPW is used to control the pulse width “PW”. (Chart 9 B) The pulse width determines the duration of write-to-read suppression of the feedback amplifier 110 e . The register bit IBPA controls the amplitude “PA” of the control pulse, which determines the amplitude of the bias current Ib, which in turn controls the location of the LCF of the gain stage 110 during write-to-read transition. The register bit IBFALL controls the fall time “FT” (slope) of the pulse IBPULSE to ensure a smooth transition so as not create an extra disturbance in the read channel. Depending on the register setting of IBPW, it generates a pulse width PW approximately 150 ns to 300 ns long. The register bit BCPW controls the MR bias control circuit within stage 110 to further reduce transients at the write-to-read transition.

Under normal operation, the maximum low corner frequency (LCF) of the first stage 110 is programmed to be 2 MHz to 5 MHz. The LCF of the preamplifier IC is determined by the gain of the feedback transconductor in the first stage. During a write-to-read transition, the LCF is shifted to a higher frequency to filter out the write-to-read transient. Depending on the register setting of IBPA, this higher frequency of the LCF of the first stage 110 can be 6 MHz to 10 MHz. After the write-to-read transient dies away, the LCF is shifted back to its lower programmed value so it will not adversely affect reading of the data signal.

The back-end control circuit 180 is controlled by the register bits W2RINTDEL1, W2RINTON, W2RING, and W2RINTDEL2. Pulse generation circuit 210 generates a second pulse INTPULSE (Chart 9 C) which is fed to W2RINT 180 . Register bit W2RINTDEL1 controls the duration that the LCF of circuit 180 is at the first, relatively high frequency. Register bit W2RINTDEL1 directly controls the delay time of INTPULSE (from the READ signal to reaching the logic threshold on INTPULSE. INTPULSE is input to control circuit 170 (FIG. 5) and therefore controls the delay between the write-to-read transition and the activation of switches TT 672 , T 673 . Register bit W2RINTON turns circuit 180 on and off, via the switches T 85 , T 86 (FIG. 7) Register-bit W2RINTG controls the gain of the LPF 135 , via switch T 4 . Register bit W2RINTDEL2 is provided to the input VC 2 Del, and thus controls the duration of change of the LCF from the first, relatively high frequency to the second, relatively low frequency. By way of example, the first relatively high frequency may be 15 MHz, the second lower frequency may be 150 KHz. Thus, to supress write-to-read transients, the LCF is initially at 15 MHZ to suppress the high initial peak illustrated in FIG. 2 A. The LCF is moved to 150 Khz gradually to suppress the long tail without over filtering, and is then maintained at 150 KHz. This very low LCF is to ensure that the existence of the feedback circuit 180 does not have a significant impact on the overall frequency response of the read channel.

FIG. 10 is a graph which illustrates the effect of the first stage 110 in reducing the write-to-read transition. Line “A” is an uncorrected write-to-read distrubance. Line “B” is the write-to-read disturbance with only the FBA 110 e activated to reduce the disturbance. Line “C” shows the additional reduction provided by by a boost in the gain of MR bias control circuit within stage 110 to reduce transients at this first stage.

FIG. 11 illustrates the frequency response of the entire read channel 100 with the feedback integrator (stages 135 , 140 ) in different gain modes. Line HG represents the high gain mode of the feedback integrator, which would occur if the W2RINTG bit is set to high. The LCF of the system, LCF HG , in the high gain mode is dominated by the feedback integrator and is at a high frequency to filter the peak portion of the write-to-read disturbance. Line LG represents the integrator in a lower gain mode, when the W2RINTG bit is set to logic high. Line R represents the steady state of the read path frequency response during the read mode. Line O is the frequency response of the read channel when the feedback integrator is turned off. As is quite evident, during the normal read mode, the integrator has little effect on the frequency response of the read channel. This is because the zero introduced by the W2RINT 180 when the read channel is nominally operating is sufficiently lower than (approx 10 times lower freq.) than the zero of the first stage 110 of the preamplifier that the zero (i.e. the low corner frequency) of the overall read channel is not affected by the zero in the W2RINT 180 . However, as demonstrated earlier, the integrator nonetheless significantly reduces the offset of the preamplifier IC.

FIG. 12 illustrates an actual write-to-read disturbance after filtering with a preamplifier IC having both of the first and second control elements. The write-to-read transition is at momet “I” in the Figure. The disturbance has a high initial peak “P”, of a negative peak “−P”, and a tail. As mentioned previously, the beginning of the settled read mode is defined as beginning at the last ocurrence where the disturbance has a magnitude of 20 mV. In FIG. 12, this occurs at a time of 124 ns, at point “C”. In circuits without the filtering elements of the present invention, settling time was typically on the order of 4 to 10 microseconds. Thus, the present invention provides an improvement in settling time averaging on the order of a factor of 50.

With this “write-to-read” register, disk drive manufacturers can optimize the write-to-read performance easily by programming through the serial register. This also shortens the design cycle because different parameters can be tested without the need of changing the design of the read channel.

The process or technology by which the of the invention is made is not important and any of the standard bipolar, CMOS or BiCMOS processes can be used.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.