Two-Dimensional Generalized Partial Response Equalizer for Bit-Patterned Media

The use of bit-patterned media is one of the approaches being investigated to extend magnetic recording densities to 1 Tbit/in² and beyond. In patterned media, track pitch may be small causing adjacent tracks to have significant interference on the replay waveform from the main data track. To mitigate the effect of such inter-track interference (ITI), we propose the use of a two-dimensional (2D) generalized partial response (GPR) equalizer. We select both the equalizer and the partial response target using the minimum mean squared error (MMSE) criterion. However, we avoid the need for a 2D Viterbi algorithm by imposing a constraint on the 2D target that forces the adjacent track contributions (in the ideal case) to zero. Simulation results show that this 2D equalizer significantly improves the bit error rate (BER). In this work, the effect of a 2D GPR equalizer on the performance of a patterned media system in the presence of track misregistration (TMR) is also investigated. Based on the simulation results, the 2D equalization method appears to be more tolerant to TMR than the conventional GPR The main drawback of the proposed method is the need for simultaneously acquiring the signals from three adjacent tracks.