Histograms of processed noise samples for measuring error rate of a PRML data detection channel
US5490091A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 1994 |
| Grant date | Feb 6, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 1, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B27/36
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for measuring the error rate of a magnetic recording device, such as a hard disk storing a set of data. The apparatus has a partial response maximum likelihood data detecting channel (PRML channel) which differs from a conventional PRML channel by including a noise processing unit (66) which is connected between the output of an A/D converter (54) and the input of a sequence detector (60), and a histogrammer (70), which is connected to the output of a noise processing unit. The method consists of estimating a sequence of noise samples received from the output of the A/D converter (54), processing the sequence of noise samples according to a plurality of predetermined sets of processing coefficients, accumulating a plurality of histograms of segregated processed noise samples, and processing the plurality of histograms so as to determine a dependence of a number of errors on a preselected criterion which characterizes a signal-to-noise ratio of the PRML channel. The above dependence can be extrapolated for an actual error rate of the channel being tested.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.