Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk comprising a plurality of servo sectors defining a plurality of tracks, wherein the servo sectors are written to the disk by servoing off of spiral tracks. The head is positioned over a target track in response to the servo sectors, and coefficients of a first sinusoid are generated corresponding to the target track, wherein the first sinusoid corresponds a repeatable position error of the head relative to the target track. The coefficients of the first sinusoid comprise a coherent component due to a repeatable runout of the disk and a spiral component due to writing the servo sectors by servoing off of the spiral tracks, where the spiral component varies based on a radial location of the head. The head is servoed over the target track in response to the coefficients.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed including a disk, a spindle motor operable to rotate the disk, a head, and a voice coil motor (VCM) operable to actuate the head over the disk, wherein the VCM comprises a voice coil. The disk drive further comprises a capacitor, and a back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage generator operable to generate a BEMF voltage from the spindle motor. The disk drive further comprises switching circuitry operable to connect the voice coil to the capacitor while accelerating the VCM, and to disconnect the voice coil from the capacitor and connect the voice coil to the BEMF voltage while decelerating the VCM.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for writing repeatable runout (RRO) correction values to a disk of a disk drive. The disk has distributed position information in a plurality of embedded servo sectors. The transducer head has a read element that is offset from a write element. The write element is positioned over a target track while the distributed position information from a followed track is read using the read element. The target track is different from the followed track due to the offset between the read element and the write element. Previously determined RRO correction values associated with the target track are written at radial positions on the target track. The radial positions are based on the distributed position information of the followed track, previously determined RRO correction values associated with the followed track, and a portion of the previously determined RRO correction values associated with the target track.

Abstract: Servo writing a disk of a disk drive is disclosed. A phase locked loop (PLL) is synchronized to first sectors previously written on a first track, and second sectors are written to a second track using the PLL, wherein a plurality of phase errors corresponding to the second sectors are saved. A correction value is computed corresponding to a selected one of the second sectors, wherein the correction value is computed in response to a plurality of the phase errors generated for a plurality of the second sectors leading the selected sector. The PLL is synchronized to the second sectors using the correction value, a third sector is written to a third track using the PLL, and a phase error is saved corresponding to the third sector.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed having a servo control system optimized for faster determination of repeatable runout (RRO) correction values. Each circumferential track on a magnetic disk exhibits total runout having an RRO component and a nonrepeatable runout (NRO) component. The control system generates a control signal for positioning a transducer head during a track following operation based on distributed position information defining the followed track. PES values are calculated based on the distributed servo position information read during a track following operation. The first servo-loop compensator processes the PES values during normal data access operations and has a first transfer function that is optimized with respect to a variance of the total runout. The second servo-loop compensator processes the PES values during a RRO calibration operation and has a second transfer function that is optimized with respect to a variance of the NRO component.

Abstract: A disk drive is discloses comprising a disk, a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm, and a voice coil motor (VCM) for rotating the actuator arm about a pivot in order to actuate the head radially over the disk. If when a power failure occurs the radial location of the head is less than a predetermined distance from the outer diameter of the disk, the VCM is controlled to move the head toward the inner diameter of the disk and stopping the head before it reaches the inner diameter of the disk. The VCM is then controlled to move the head toward the outer diameter of the disk until the actuator arm unloads onto a ramp.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for writing servo patterns for tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a magnetic disk drive. In the method, track following is performed along a reference track, defined by previously written servo burst patterns, using a servo loop having a closed-loop response. A position error signal is generated for the reference track based on the track following. A correction signal is generated based on the track following using an observer of a one-dimensional state model that is equivalent to the two-dimensional state model of the servo loop. Servo patterns are written at a target radial location on the magnetic disk medium during track following of the reference track. The position error signal of the servo loop is adjusted based on the correction signal to reduce radial error propagation from the reference track to the servo burst patterns at the target radial location.

Abstract: The present invention may be embodied in a method of determining a repeatable runout (RRO) compensation value set for a data track on a magnetic disk in a disk drive. The track comprises a plurality of embedded sectors that define a circumferential path having RRO requiring compensation during data read and write operation. In the method, track following is performed along the track and a position error signal (PES) is determined for each servo sector. An RRO compensation value is iteratively learned for each servo sector using the previously learned value for the servo sector and using the PES for the servo sector and for adjacent servo sectors.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for defining tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a disk drive. Reference tracks are followed using a servo control loop while writing servo burst patterns defining a first target servo track. The servo control loop includes a two-dimensional digital state compensator having a first input that receives position error signals, a first output that generates control signals for positioning a transducer head, a second output that generates track-following state variables, and a second input that receives processed and stored track-following state variables. The first target track is followed using the servo control loop while servo burst patterns are written, and while the processed and stored track-following state variables corresponding to the servo burst patterns defining the first target track are applied to the second input.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for determining repeatable runout (RRO) cancellation values in a disk drive having a head disk assembly (HDA) and a sampled servo controller. The HDA includes a disk having distributed position information in servo wedges, a rotary actuator carrying a head that periodically reads the position information, and a voice coil motor circuit that responds to a control effort signal. The servo controller periodically adjusts the control effort signal during a track-following operation. In the method, the position information related to a predetermined track is read during track following for more than one disk rotation. The position information is averaged for each servo wedge obtained during the disk rotations. The averaged servo position values are filtered with a filter for compensating effects of the sampled servo controller, which tend to distort the averaged servo position values, to generate the RRO cancellation values for the predetermined track.

Abstract: The present invention may be embodied in a method for preventing radial error propagation during self-servowriting of concentric tracks on a magnetic disk in a disk drive. Each written track comprises a plurality of embedded servo sectors that define a circumferential path and that eventually form corresponding servo wedges extending radially across the magnetic disk such that each servo sector t of a track corresponds to a particular servo wedge. In the method comprising, track following is performed along a previously written track and a position error signal is determined for each servo sector. A correction value is recursively estimated for each servo sector of an adjacent track. The correction value is for use in correcting a position error signal determined using the corresponding servo sector of the adjacent track to prevent radial error propagation from previously written track to the adjacent track.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for generating a repeatable runout (RRO) compensation value set for a circular track on a magnetic medium on a surface of a disk in a disk drive. The magnetic medium has a plurality of previously written spiral servo tracks for providing position information during a self servo-writing operation. In the method, servo burst patterns are written at a plurality of radial locations on the magnetic data storage surface during circular tracking operations using the spiral servo tracks, and respective position error signals generated during the circular tracking operations are stored. The servo burst patterns at the plurality of radial locations define a circular data track. The RRO compensation value set for the circular data track may be generated based on the respective stored position error signals generated during the circular tracking operations for writing the servo burst patterns at the plurality of radial locations.

Abstract: A method for reducing an estimation period for repeatable runout (RRO) errors in a disk drive comprising a head, a disk surface having a track partitioned by servo-wedges, and a servo control system for controlling the movement of the head relative to a track during revolutions of the disk. The method includes estimating the RRO errors of the track based on a) a series of position error signal values obtained during a current revolution of the disk surface, and b) a previous estimation of the RRO errors of the track obtained during a previous revolution of the disk surface and determining a differential value between a first measure of the estimated RRO errors and a second measure of the previous estimation of RRO errors, and repeating the estimating and determining for subsequent revolutions of the disk surface until the determined differential value is smaller than a pre-selected threshold value.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for defining tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a disk drive. Reference tracks are followed using a servo control loop while writing servo patterns defining a first target servo track. The servo control loop includes a two-dimensional digital state compensator having a first input that receives timing error signals, a first output that generates control signals for a controlled oscillator, a second output that generates timing state variables, and a second input that receives stored timing state variables. The first target track is followed using the servo control loop while servo patterns are written, and while the stored timing state variables corresponding to the servo patterns defining the first target track are applied to the second input.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for writing servo patterns for tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a disk drive. Servo patterns are written on a reference track of the disk medium. Track following of the written servo patterns on the reference track is performed using a servo loop having a closed-loop response. A position error signal is generated for the reference track based on the track following. A correction signal is generated based on the track following using an observer of a one-dimensional state model that is equivalent to a two-dimensional state model of the servo loop. Servo patterns are written on a target track during track following of the reference track. The position error signal of the servo loop is adjusted based on the correction signal to reduce radial error propagation from the reference track to the target track.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for recursively determining repeatable runout (RRO) cancellation values in a disk drive having a head disk assembly (HDA) and a sampled servo controller. The HDA includes a disk having distributed position information in servo wedges, a rotary actuator carrying a head that periodically reads the position information, and a voice coil motor circuit that responds to a control effort signal. The servo controller periodically adjusts the control effort signal during a track-following operation. In the method, resonant filter values for developing RRO cancellation values are iteratively learned and updated after each disk rotation during track following operations on a predetermined track until a threshold, such as a particular number of disk rotations, is obtained.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for defining tracks on a rotating magnetic disk medium of a disk drive. Reference tracks are followed using a servo control loop while writing servo burst patterns defining a first target servo track. The servo control loop includes a two-dimensional digital state compensator having a first input that receives position error signals, a first output that generates control signals for positioning a transducer head, a second output that generates track-following state variables, and a second input that receives stored track-following state variables. The first target track is followed using the servo control loop while servo burst patterns are written, and while the stored track-following state variables corresponding to the servo burst patterns defining the first target track are applied to the second input.

Abstract: The present invention may be embodied in a method and a disk drive for improving head position accuracy during track following through real-time identification of external vibration. A selected track is followed using a servo control loop having a nominal gain and being responsive to position error signal samples generated based on a difference between head position samples and a reference head position value. A spectral power value within a predetermined frequency band is determined from a sequence of the position error signal samples. If a property of the spectral power value exceeds a threshold, the gain of the servo control loop is increased within the predetermined frequency band to attenuate the effect of external vibration on the position of the head over the selected track during track following.