Characterization of the read/write process for magnetic recording

The extracted dipulse technique, or pseudorandom sequence method, provides a means for the characterization and measurement of a variety of linear and nonlinear recording effects. In the past the technique has been used to identify and quantify several transition shift phenomena. The technique is extended to characterize readback distortions and media noise. The technique can be applied to any binary or even to multilevel channels; a ternary example is included.