A comparison of multirate robust track-following control synthesis techniques for dual-stage and multisensing servo systems in hard disk drives

This paper presents the system modeling, design, and analysis of multirate robust track-following controllers for a dual-stage servo system with a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microactuator (MA) and an instrumented suspension. A generalized model is constructed which includes a nominal plant, disturbances, uncertainties, and multirate sensing and control. Two major categories of controller design methodologies are considered. The first includes synthesis methodologies that are based on single-input single-output (SISO) design techniques, and includes the sensitivity decoupling (SD) and the PQ methods. In this case, a high sampling-rate inner loop damping control is first implemented using the auxiliary sensor signals. Subsequently, a low-rate outer loop controller is designed for the damped plant using either the SD or PQ design methods. The second category of design methodologies includes those based on multirate, multi-input multi-output (MIMO) design techniques, including mixed H₂/H_∞, mixed H₂/μ, and robust H₂ synthesis. In this case, a set of controllers, which is periodically time-varying due to multirateness, is designed by explicitly considering plant uncertainty and hence robust stability. Comparisons are made between all the design techniques in terms of nominal H₂ performance, robust stability, and robust performance between these controllers, when the feedback controller is closed around the full order, perturbed plant. The advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods are discussed, as well as guidelines for their practical implementation.