Abstract: An apparatus and method for electrically coupling read elements and write elements of a tape head assembly to another component includes an interconnect structure having plural layers of traces, with the traces comprising write traces electrically connected to respective write elements, and read traces electrically connected to respective read elements. The write traces and read traces are interleaved across a dimension of the interconnect structure.

Abstract: A tape head assembly comprises a transducer head having plural arrays of transducing elements, the transducing elements comprising at least one of write elements and read elements. The tape head assembly further comprises a set of conditioning elements, the conditioning elements comprising at least one of write drivers and read amplifiers. Multiplexing circuitry selectively couples the conditioning elements to one of the plural arrays of transducing elements.

Abstract: A data recording system includes media such as a magnetic disk or tape, a read/write head assembly, and a circuit that provides a write signal having edge placement equalization. The circuit responds to a binary serial data signal such as a run length limited signal of the type (1,x) and provides a write signal having data transitions corresponding to one of the two binary data values, the absence of a transition corresponding to the other data value. In addition, the write signal is provided with a pair of equalization transitions during periods of no data transitions. A first data transition is shifted away from the last provided equalization transition by a predetermined offset. A second data transition, provided immediately after the first data transition, may be shifted toward the last provided equalization transition. Timing of the data transitions is derived from a clock used to provide the equalization transitions.