Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a non-volatile memory that is incapable of being overwritten more than a limited number of times, a disk and a controller. The controller includes a memory management table used to manage a correlation between a logical block address (LBA) and a physical address of the non-volatile memory. In the absence of a replaceable region in the non-volatile memory and in response to an occurrence of a failure to write data in a region, defined as a failure region, in the non-volatile memory at a first physical address correlated with a first LBA, the controller is configured to write the data at a second physical address correlated with a second LBA of the non-volatile memory different from the first LBA, and is configured to correlate in the memory management table the first LBA with the second physical address.

Abstract: A near-field optical probe and optical near-field generator are provided. A problem of a probe having a scatterer in which optical near-field noises are generated at the parts other than for a point at which an intense optical near-field is generated, is solved. In one example of the probe, a surface of the parts except for a vertex of the scatterer at which the intense optical near-field is generated is etched so that an etching depth becomes not less than a penetration depth of the optical near-field. The probe facilitates control of noises when a sample is observed or recording marks are reproduced.

Abstract: A near-field optical probe and optical near-field generator are provided. A problem of a probe having a scatterer in which optical near-field noises are generated at the parts other than for a point at which an intense optical near-field is generated, is solved. In one example of the probe, a surface of the parts except for a vertex of the scatterer at which the intense optical near-field is generated is etched so that an etching depth becomes not less than a penetration depth of the optical near-field. The probe facilitates control of noises when a sample is observed or recording marks are reproduced.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: A thermally assisted magnetic recording system is provided to achieve excellent thermal resistance and low noise. In one embodiment, a magnetic recording medium is used, in which the magnetic intergrain exchange coupling is large to let the magnetization be thermally stable by coupling the magnetic grains constituting the recording layer at room temperature (the temperature maintaining the magnetization) and reduced by heating during recording to let the recording magnetization transition slope become steep. Parameter A normalizing the slope around the coercivity of the MH-loop of the medium is 1.5?A<6.0 at room temperature, and it becomes approximately 1.0 with heating.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: A thermally assisted magnetic recording system is provided to achieve excellent thermal resistance and low noise. In one embodiment, a magnetic recording medium is used, in which the magnetic intergrain exchange coupling is large to let the magnetization be thermally stable by coupling the magnetic grains constituting the recording layer at room temperature (the temperature maintaining the magnetization) and reduced by heating during recording to let the recording magnetization transition slope become steep. Parameter A normalizing the slope around the coercivity of the MH-loop of the medium is 1.5?A<6.0 at room temperature, and it becomes approximately 1.0 with heating.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention reduce the peak consumption current of a disk drive and that of its application system, and to minimize the limitation of the consumption current so that the performance deterioration of the disk drive and its application system is minimized. In one embodiment, a monitor terminal is provided to enter the pre-regulated output voltage of the voltage constant power supply. The disk drive is controlled so as to suppress the currents consumed by individual sections in the disk drive if the monitored voltage falls to a predetermined reference voltage.

Abstract: Recording information is disclosed in which an information recording medium is irradiated with a recording energy beam that is power-modulated into at least a record power level and a record-ready power level lower than the record power level. The information is recorded on the recording medium in the form of length and interval of a mark portion. When forming a mark portion of a predetermined length, the radiation energy of the energy beam is increased as compared with when forming a mark portion of a different length before or after the first pulse of an energy beam pulse train including at least a pulse for forming the mark portion.

Abstract: Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to methods wherein a capacity of a disk drive is increased by partially overwriting adjacent tracks to shorten the track width and collectively updating a data update unit made up of a plurality of tracks, wherein the capacity reduction caused by a defective track is suppressed. Track groups having two types of track widths, or Shingled Tracks(ST) and Tiled Tracks(TT), are allocated in a zone. First, the zone is divided into two areas, namely, a shingled track (ST) area and a spare or tiled track (TT) area. When a defective track is detected in the shingled track (ST) area, it is checked whether or not the spare or tiled track (TT) area affords an area to be transferred. If it does, an area is transferred from the spare or tiled track (TT) area to the shingled track (ST) area. When it is confirmed that the allocation of ST has been completed, TT is allocated to the remaining spare or tiled track (TT) area in subsequent steps.

Abstract: An information read/write device has a first processor for instructing a second processor to write information onto or read information from a recording medium. The recording medium has a random access memory module which allows both processors to read or write data to the memory module. The second processor controls a scanning module for the recording medium, a write signal processing module and a read signal processing module. The read/write device is easy-to-operate while using a minimum of electric power consumption with prevention against electromagnetic interference (EMI) making the invention suitable for use in hand-held devices.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention help to protect user data in its entirety from any unauthorized access, by making encryption key data used to encrypt the user data not available for reading, when a user having an authorized access right does not access an information recording medium for a predetermined length of time. According to one embodiment, through use of a magnetic disk in which a data losing time of an encryption key data recording area is shorter than a data losing time in a user data recording area, recording is performed to the magnetic disk while encrypting user data during recording, and encryption key data for use with encryption is recorded in the encryption data recording area.

Abstract: The objects of the present invention are to facilitate the driving of the recording energy source, and to secure sufficient cooling time of the recording medium to promote the high-speed formation of high-precision marks and to provide high-speed and large-capacity information recording apparatuses at a low cost. To achieve the above objects, at the time of information recording, p is chosen as the integer constant for marks natural number k times long of the detection window width by referring to the mark length in the recording data sequence, the recording data sequence is discriminated according to the quotient obtained by and the remainder remaining after dividing k+p by two or more integer constants, and the energy generating means is driven according to different procedures based on the result of discrimination obtained thereby.

Abstract: Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to methods wherein a capacity of a disk drive is increased by partially overwriting adjacent tracks to shorten the track width and collectively updating a data update unit made up of a plurality of tracks, wherein the capacity reduction caused by a defective track is suppressed. Track groups having two types of track widths, or Shingled Tracks(ST) and Tiled Tracks(TT), are allocated in a zone. First, the zone is divided into two areas, namely, a shingled track (ST) area and a spare or tiled track (TT) area. When a defective track is detected in the shingled track (ST) area, it is checked whether or not the spare or tiled track (TT) area affords an area to be transferred. If it does, an area is transferred from the spare or tiled track (TT) area to the shingled track (ST) area. When it is confirmed that the allocation of ST has been completed, TT is allocated to the remaining spare or tiled track (TT) area in subsequent steps.

Abstract: Embodiments in accordance with the present invention enable a disk drive of an address system to write data normally, wherein track groups of different track widths are discretely disposed on the storage medium in a same disk drive and the dimensional relationship among physical block addresses of a sector is valid for the dimensional relationship among logical block addresses. Track groups are managed corresponding to their respective track width in a disk drive and for disposing successively in a logical block address space the respective track groups located discretely on the physical block address space.

Abstract: To generate a satisfactory recording magnetic domain on a recording medium and to improve the durability of a recording head, an information recording apparatus for generating an optical near field and thermo-magnetically recording information on the recording medium is provided with a light source, a magnetic pole for applying a magnetic field to the recording medium and a diffuser that generates an optical near field in the vicinity of the recording medium when light from the light source is radiated. The diffuser is formed with it in contact with the magnetic pole so that the face which light from the light source irradiates is substantially perpendicular to the recording medium. Thereby, recording density in the information recording apparatus can be increased, simultaneously the reliability can be also enhanced and as a result, the cost can be reduced.