A METHOD OF MEASURING THE FLYING HEIGHT OF A SLIDER IN A MOVING MAGNETIC STORAGE APPARATUS

Abstract: In a method of measuring the flying height of a slider supporting a magnetic transducer in an operational magnetic storage system, relative motion is produced between the magnetic transducer and a magnetic recording medium at a first velocity so that the resulting air bearing positions the magnetic transducer slider at a first flying height from the magnetic medium. A single signal of constant periodicity is written over a predetermined area of the recording medium by the magnetic transducer, and a readback signal is sensed from the predetermined area of the recording medium to produce a first signal. The flying height of the magnetic transducer slider is lowered to substantially zero, and a readback signal is sensed at the lowered flying height to produce a second signal. The first flying height is then calculated as the ratio, expressed in decibels, of the first and second signals times the wavelength divided by a constant. In another embodiment a plurality of signals are recorded and readback signals are simultaneously sensed at two separate wavelengths. In a further embodiment, a signal is recorded which has a spectral content comprising a plurality of different frequencies, and readback signals are simultaneously sensed at two separate wavelengths.

Description: This invention relates to a method of measuring the flying height of a slider in a moving magnetic storage apparatus. In high speed data processing systems, magnetic disks have been employed for large storage capacity requirements. Data is read from and written onto the disks by magnetic transducers commonly called magnetic heads which are positioned over the disk during the retrieval and storage of data on tracks of the disks. The requirements for higher data density on magnetic disks have imposed a requirement to read and write more data on narrower tracks located on the disk. The achievement of a higher data density requires increasingly narrow transducing gaps and increasingly less spacing or clearance, commonly called flying height, between the magnetic transducer and the disk recording surface. It becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain this low flying height constant to the degree required to reliably record and read data at the higher data density. Prior art methods for measuring flying height have included various capacitive and optical techniques which require special "test" disks or sliders. These methods are unable to measure the slider/disk clearance in-situ or in a direct manner. The clearance between real sliders and disks is inferred from the measurements from the "test" sliders or disks. This method has been suitable up to the present, but, with the low flying heights now required, the accuracy and precision of the prior art indirect measurements are no longer satisfactory. Using the modulation of the read signal envelope to measure variations in head/disk spacing is described in "Head Flight Height Monitoring" by Gaudet et al in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 12, May, 1969, p. 1650. The control factor described there is based on a comparison of the currently detected read signal level with the average of previously detected levels. The modulation of the read signal envelope to measure variations in head/disk spacing is also described in Shi et al, "Use of Readback Signal Modulation to Measure Head/Disk Spacing Variations in Magnetic Disk Files", Technical Report No. 11, The Centre for Magnetic Recording Research, University of California, San ±Diego, December, 1985. The readback signal modulation technique is used in conjunction with a laser-doppler vibrometer to measure simultaneously the spacing variation and disk vibrations that result from various laboratory induced impacts directly on the disk of an operating disk file. While this apparatus is useful as a laboratory tool in the research and development of magnetic disk files, the disk file structure must be altered to accommodate the laser-doppler vibrometer and the equipment required is very costly. THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL October 1951, pages 1145-1173, R. L. WALLACE, JR.: "The Reproduction of Magnetically Recorded Signals" describes an experimental study of the effect of head/disk spacing in a magnetic disk drive. As described on page 1146, a single frequency recording was made with the head in contact with the disk and the level of the readback signal was measured, first with the head in contact, and then after introducing paper shims of various thickness between the head and the disk. The effect of spacing was measured at a particular frequency and recording speed and the process was repeated for other recorded frequencies and several record-reproduce speeds. Said document discloses a formula (referred to in the present application as the Wallace formula), according to which the spacing loss in decibels is proportional to the spacing and inversely proportional to the recorded wavelength. The spacing loss is zero at zero spacing (by definition). F. Morris et al.: "Effect of flying height variation on offtrack data handling", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, Vol. MAG-17, No. 4, July 1981, pages 1372 to 1375, discloses a method for measuring the flying height of a slider supporting a magnetic transducer in a disk drive, involving the following steps: producing relative motion between the transducer and the disk so that the slider flies on an air bearing over the disk; writing a signal of constant wavelength over a predetermined area of the disk with said magnetic transducer; sensing a readback signal at said constant wavelength from the predetermined area of the disk with the transducer to produce a first readback signal; and calculating on the basis of the Wallace formula the flying height relative to a known steady state flying height (d0). This document does not disclose making any measurements with the head in contact with the disk. The pre-characterizing part of claim 1 is based on this document. This invention seeks to provide a method of measuring the spacing between a magnetic transducer and the recording medium in-situ in a direct manner in an operational magnetic storage system. According to one aspect, the invention provides a method of measuring the flying height of a slider supporting a magnetic transducer in a moving magnetic storage system according to claim 1. Other aspects of the invention are defined in the dependent claims appended hereto. How the invention can be carried out will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a disk file; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the accessing mechanism for a single disk surface of the apparatus of FIG 1; FIG. 3 is a side view showing the position of the slider at normal relative velocity between the slider and the magnetic recording medium; FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the apparatus for carrying out the flying height measurement according to a specific embodiment of the invention; FIG. 5 is a plot of the clearance between the magnetic transducer and the disk surface vs. relative velocity between the magnetic transducer and the disk surface; FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the apparatus for carrying out an alternative embodiment of the flying height measurement; and FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the apparatus for carrying out a further embodiment of the flying height measurement. Although the present invention will be described in connection with to a magnetic disk storage apparatus, it is applicable to other mechanically moving magnetic storage apparatus as well. In a conventional magnetic disk file as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of rigid rotatable disks, such as disks 10, 12 and 14, are supported on a spindle 16 and rotated by a disk drive motor 18, whose rotational speed is sensed by sensor 20. The magnetic recording media on each disk is in the form of an annular pattern of concentric data tracks having an inside diameter 22 and an outside diameter 24, as shown on disk 10. As the disks rotate, the sliders are moved radially in and out so that the heads may access different portions of the disk surfaces containing the data. Each slider 26 supports one or more read/write heads and is attached to an actuator arm 28 by means of a suspension 30. The suspensions 30 provide a slight spring force which biases the sliders against the disk surfaces. Each actuator arm 28 is attached to a voice coil motor (VCM) 32. The VCM is a coil movable within a fixed magnetic field, and the direction and velocity of the coil movement is controlled by the current supplied. During operation of the disk file, the rotation of the disks generates an air bearing between the sliders and disk surfaces. This air bearing thus counterbalances the slight spring force of the suspensions and supports the slider off the disk surfaces during operation. The above description of a typical disk file, and the accompanying illustration of it in FIG. 1, are for representative purposes only. It should be apparent that disk files may contain a large number of disks and VCMs and that each VCM may support a number of sliders. The present invention of a method of measuring flying height of the heads above the disk surface is fully applicable to any such movable storage apparatus, provided it is of the type in which the sliders are in contact with the storage medium when at rest and "fly" above the storage medium when at operating speed. The various components of the disk file are controlled in operation by signals generated by control unit 34 which includes internal clock signals, logic control circuits, storage and a microprocessor. The control unit 34 generates control signals to control various disk file operations such as motor control signals on line 36 and position control signals on line 38. The control signals on line 38 provide the desired current profile to optimally move the selected slider 26 to the desired track on the associated disk. As shown in FIG. 2, the sliders 26a and 26b are positioned so that they are initially at one or more tracks 42 and 44 which constitute landing zones on a plurality of data tracks 46 and 48. In accordance with the present invention, a signal is recorded on a predetermined area of the disk which is preferably a part of landing area tracks 42 and 44, but it could as well be in one of the data track areas 46 or 48. The pattern to be recorded is processed through the write channel 33 (FIG. 1) and coupled to a write driver which forms a part of the arm electronics 29. The readback signal from magnetic transducer 27 (FIG. 3) is first amplified in a preamplifier which is a part of the arm electronics 29 and then processed by the read channel 35. The terms flying height, spacing and clearance are used somewhat interchangeably in the art, although their derivation and meaning are different. The term flying height was first used to refer to the results of an optically measured distance between a magnetic transducer slider and a recording medium, whereas the term spacing relates to a magnetically defined distance between a magnetic transducer and a magnetic recording medium, and these values could differ because of the presence of an overcoat layer on the recording medium, for example. The term clearance is the physical clearance between the magnetic transducer slider and the magnetic recording medium surface, and it is this factor which is referred to as flying height as measured by the method of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic transducer slider 26 is supported in a position away from the magnetic recording medium surface 40 by the air bearing formed by the relative motion, depicted by arrow 39, between the slider 26 and the magnetic recording medium. In the embodiment shown, the slider 26 is shaped so that the flying attitude, at normal relative velocity v, positions magnetic read/write transducer 27 a distance d from the record medium surface 40. Transducer 27 is preferably an inductive read/write transducer, although the invention is also equally applicable to separate inductive read and write transducers on the same slider, and also to an inductive write transducer and a magnetoresistive read transducer on the same slider. The read and write transducers need not be on the same slider, but in this case, it is the spacing of the read transducer that is sensed. According to the present invention, a method is provided for measuring flying height of all the magnetic heads in an operational magnetic disk storage system. The use of the method is invoked by the signal FLYHT MEAS which is generated by control unit 34. In accordance with the method, the readback signal is also coupled to a Flying Height Measuring Means 49 under control of the FLYHT MEAS signal from control unit 34. The theoretical basis for the method is the Wallace spacing loss equation which expresses the dependence of the readback voltage on various recording parameters including the head/disk spacing. This formula can be stated as where λ = wavelength of recorded patterns on disk E o = amplitude of one reading E = amplitude of next reading and for the correction factor v o = velocity at time E o was measured v = velocity at time E was measured G = frequency response of system The correction factor formula (2) as stated above is applicable to an inductive read transducer. However, should a magnetoresistive read transducer be used, the first v o /v factor is replaced by unity. The above formula (1) indicates that the variation of the signal measured in decibels can be translated into spacing or flying height change. Knowledge of the spacing or flying height change provides some useful information, but it is the absolute flying height that is desired. The absolute flying height can be measured by decreasing the clearance of the slider over the disks in some manner, to a reference clearance, such as zero clearance, for example, so that a reference reading at the decreased spacing, such as zero clearance, can be obtained. The clearance can be decreased by mechanical force loading, or evacuation of the gases from the air bearing, for example. The preferred way of decreasing the clearance of the slider over the disks, known as a "spin down", is to decrease the velocity of the disks so that the air bearing collapses and the slider contacts the disk. As shown in FIG. 5, as the velocity decreases, the clearance also decreases, and the readback signal is sensed at each of the velocity points. When the corrected signal (i.e., the signal as corrected by formula (2)) ceases to increase, this indicates that the slider is in contact with the disk surface. Even though the slider is in contact with the disk surface, since the velocity is still substantially above zero, sufficient readback signal is produced by transducer 27 to generate an accurate flying height reference signal. The absolute flying height can then be calculated as the summation of all the ▵ flying height values calculated from the zero spacing value to that calculated at the normal operating velocity of the disk file. The absolute flying height can be calculated as the ratio expressed in decibels, of the signal sensed at the first flying height to the signal sensed at zero clearance times wavelength divided by a constant. To obtain an accurate measurement of flying height, the readback signal amplitude should be measured with the magnetic head aligned with the track upon which the test signal is written. High performance magnetic disk files typically have a tracking servo system which operates only when the disks are rotating at normal velocity. For these systems, it is preferable to write the test signal with the actuator positioned near the end-of-travel crash stop. As shown in FIG. 2, the test signal is preferably written on tracks 42 or 44 while the actuator 28 is near crash stop 31. Then, during the "spin down", a small AC current is applied to VCM 32 so that the resulting motion can vibrate the actuator 28 away from the crash stop 31 to produce a dithering motion 25 (FIG. 2) of the slider across the recorded tracks. This action permits the peak detector 56 to capture the peak readback signal amplitude as the magnetic transducers 27 cross the centre of the written track 42 or 44. The "spin down" is initiated by cutting the power to the drive motor 18, and the relative velocity during the spin down can be sensed by reference to the MOTOR SPEED signal provided by sensor 20 or by reference to the frequency of the readback signal. A block diagram of a specific apparatus for carrying out the invention is shown in FIG. 4. A multiplexer 50 enables the read signal from a particular one out of all the magnetic heads to be sensed, and RF amplifier 52 provides an amplified signal. The output of amplifier 52 is coupled into a tracking bandpass filter 54, from which the signal is coupled to peak detector 56. Peak detector 56 senses the peak amplitude of the read signal and this value is coupled to analog to digital converter (ADC) 58 to provide a digital representation of the peak amplitude of the read signal. The digital signal is then coupled to processor 60 in which the calculations, according to equations (1) and (2) are executed. In a specific embodiment the multiplexer 50 and RF amplifier 52 already exist in the disk file so all that is required are logic circuits to respond to the FLYHT MEAS signal to gate the read signal to these components. The tracking bandpass filter 54 and the peak detector 56 are apparatus that must be added to practice the method, and these components are combined in the box labelled as the Flying Height Measuring Means 49. The ADC 58 and the processor 60 are already available in the disk file. The microprocessor present in the control unit could be used for processor 60 or alternatively, a dedicated microprocessor such as the well known Model 8088 microprocessor manufactured by Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, California, could also be used. The tracking bandpass filter 54 serves the dual function of a filter and frequency tracking. The tracking bandpass filter 54 comprises a frequency mixer, a variable frequency local oscillator, a bandpass filter, and an intermediate frequency tuned amplifier. The filtering function permits only the amplitude of the fundamental frequency of the readback signal to be detected in accordance with the assumptions for which the Wallace analysis is valid. An additional function of the bandpass filter is to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the amplitude measurement. The frequency tracking function permits the filter to accommodate the change of readback signal frequency as the disk velocity changes. The tracking function is operated in response to the MOTOR SPEED signal which is derived from sensor 20 or in response to the frequency of the readback signal. The simplest implementation of the invention utilises only a recorded signal having only a single wavelength λ, and this signal is recorded in a specific location on the disk which could be any location such as the initial tracks 42 and 44, or one of the data tracks 46 or 48. The data already recorded on a specific track could also be used. The preferred recorded track comprises a track recorded at the initial tracks 42 or 44, and it is preferred that the track be recorded at the frequency of a clock source already available in the file. A shorter wavelength signal is preferred such as a signal at a frequency of 20 MHz, for example. A second embodiment of the invention utilises a dual-wavelength method for measuring changes in the head/disk spacing. This method has intrinsic long term stability and is therefore suitable for incorporating in a disk file to provide a warning for loss of head/disk clearance which may lead to a head crash. The dual-wavelength method requires recording two magnetic wavelengths λa and λb either on adjacent tracks or preferably interleaved on one track or track segment. The zero clearance value is measured as before so that the absolute flying height can be measured. Subsequently, by measuring only the ratio of the readback signal amplitudes at the two wavelengths, any change in flying height occurring between the first measurement and the subsequent measurement can be calculated by where R₁ and R₂ are the ratios of the signal amplitudes measured for the two wavelengths at times 1 and 2. The absolute flying height can be calculated as a constant times the product of two terms, the first of the two terms being the product of the two wavelengths divided by the difference between the two wavelengths, the second of the two terms being the ratio of said first and second signals, (measured at time 1) expressed in decibels, subtracted from the ratio of the third and fourth signals (measured at time 2), expressed in decibels. By the use of this embodiment, signal perturbations such as gain drift and track misregistration, to the extent they are independent of wavelength, do not change the measured signal ratios and, therefore, do not cause error. A block diagram of apparatus for carrying out the dual wavelength embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6. The apparatus comprises a multiplexer 50 and an RF amplifier 52 which function in the same manner as for the single signal embodiment. Two tracking bandpass filters 54a and 54b are provided, one to track each wavelength λa and λb. Peak detectors 56a and 56b sense the peak amplitude of the signals, and this amplitude is converted to digital form in ADCs 58a and 58b. The converted values of the two signals are coupled to processor 60 for calculation of the flying height in accordance with the formula stated above. A further embodiment of the invention is called the Harmonic Ratio Flyheight (HRF) method, and this method is based on writing a signal whose readback has a spectrum which is constant along the track and which has non-zero amplitude for at least two different frequencies. Such a pattern may be obtained by writing several passes over the same track, each time writing a different wavelength, which may or may not be harmonically related with a reduced write current to influence the relative magnitude of the written spectral lines. The preferred write signal is one single pass writing of a periodic signal (single wavelength W, constant transition density) at the write current normally used for writing data. The write signal can be chosen to conform to the encoding and writing capabilities of the file and may consist, for example, of a concatenation of valid code words recorded in a single repetitive waveform along the entire track or track segment to produce a square wave write current. The analog readback signal V(t) is then a periodic signal with a fundamental frequency f₁, = v/w recorded at a linear velocity v. The spectrum of the readback signal V(t) predominantly consists of odd harmonic lines at frequencies f n = n x f₁, (n = 1,3, 5). From this spectrum, the instantaneous amplitude V(f₁) of the fundamental frequency f₁ and the instantaneous amplitude V (f n ) of an odd higher harmonic at frequency f n are simultaneously measured. The HRF measurement method now produces an instantaneous output signal V out (t) equal to the logarithm of the ratio of the two detected amplitudes V(f₁) and V(f n ) of the two spectral lines f₁ and f n in the readback signal V(t). This can be shown, using Wallace's equations to be equal to: Here C is a constant independent of the clearance d and Δf = f n - f₁ at the time of writing the signal and v is the linear velocity at the time of writing. The above-described measurement will not yield the absolute value of the clearance d, since the measurement includes a constant chose value is not known. However, if a second, reference measurement is performed at a known value of d (for instance at d=0) the constant can be calculated and subtracted from the measured signal V out (t). The condition d=o can be assumed to exist for low velocities where the slider is in contact with the surface of the medium, and this can be achieved by the use of the "spin down" technique described above. Without such a reference measurement, the above-described measurement measures changes in the clearance, for example, from d = d₁ to d = d₁ + Δd. This results in a change in output voltage: where Δd is the change in clearance between the two measurements. The above formulas can be solved for Δd for calculating the flying height. In this case the absolute flying height is calculated as the product of two terms; the first term being a constant times the velocity v divided by the difference in frequency between the first and second signals, the second term being the difference of the ratio, expressed in decibels, of the first and second readback signals (at the first flying height) at the two wavelengths and the ratio, expressed in decibels, of the third and fourth readback signals (at the reference flying height) at the two wavelengths. The HRF measurement method is a continuous, instantaneous measurement of the ratio of two spectral lines V(f₁) and V(f n ) in the spectrum of the readback signal V(t). Both instantaneous spectral line amplitudes relate to the same volume element of the recording medium directly underneath the head. This makes the measurement inherently insensitive to such disturbances as those caused by variations in amplifier gain, head efficiency, effective trackwidth, misregistration, medium velocity, magnetic moment, and medium thickness. In addition, the HRF measurement method permits one not only to determine the instantaneous head clearance V out (t) to correctly determine the track average value of head clearance V out (t) avg. A specific apparatus for performing the HRF method using phase-sensitive detection of two harmonics of the readback spectrum is shown in FIG. 7. The invention is not limited to phase-sensitive detection, however. The input signal V(t) is the analog readback signal from the read preamplifier output. The harmonic line amplitudes V(f₁) and V(f n ) at frequencies f₁ and f n are detected by means of two coherent (or synchronous) detectors 62 and 64. These detectors will detect only the component of the respective spectral line amplitude that is in phase with the fundamental harmonic frequency f₁ of V(t) and this is accomplished by the input of the readback signal V(t) to phase-locked loop 66. The clocking outputs of phase locked loop 66 at frequencies f₁ and f n are coupled to the coherent detectors 62 and 64 to produce output signals equal to the instantaneous magnitude of the two selected spectral lines in the frequency spectrum. A log-ratio circuit 68 which includes a divider 70 and a logarithmic compressor 72 functions to determine the logarithm of the instantaneous amplitude of the pair of spectral lines. In the preferred embodiment only the first and third harmonic lines of the frequency spectrum are used since these are the harmonic lines with the highest signal-to-noise ratio. Also, when a switching type modulator (SD in 62 and 64) is used in the coherent detectors 62 and 64, 1/8 of the output of detector 64 may be subtracted from the output of detector 62 to arrive at V(f₁). In this way the harmonic sensitivity of the switching modulator SD can be compensated. The invention is not limited to this first and third harmonic ratio. By the use of the invention, all independent ratios between harmonics can be measured, and the resultant clearances can be averaged and weighted by the respective signal-to-noise ratios of the respective harmonic line amplitudes.

Claims: A method of measuring the absolute flying height of a slider (26) supporting a magnetic transducer (27) relative to a magnetic recording medium (10) in a moving magnetic storage system comprising the steps of: producing relative motion between said magnetic transducer and said magnetic recording medium at a first velocity v so that the resulting air bearing positions a magnetic transducer slider at a first flying height from the recording medium; writing a signal of constant periodicity T₁ over a predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer; sensing a readback signal at said first flying height and at a wavelength W₁=vT₁ from said predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer to produce a first readback signal; sensing a readback signal at a substantially constant known flying height at said wavelength W₁ from said predetermined area of said recording medium to produce a second readback signal; and calculating on the basis of the Wallace formula said first flying height relative to said known flying height from said first and second readback signals and a quantity representative of the wavelength W₁, said method being characterised by the further step of, prior to sensing said second readback signal, lowering the flying height of said magnetic transducer slider until it is substantially in contact with the recording medium by reducing said first velocity v to a second velocity v₂, so that said known flying height is zero and that said calculated first flying height is directly the absolute flying height of the slider. The method of claim 1, wherein the first flying height is calculated as the ratio expressed in decibels of said first and second readback signals times the wavelength W₁ divided by a constant. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of whilst said air bearing slider is positioned at said first flying height: writing at least one further signal of constant periodicity T₂ over said predetermined area of the disk with said magnetic transducer; sensing a readback signal at a second wavelength W₂ =vT₂ from said predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer to produce a third readback signal; whilst said air bearing slider is substantially in contact with said recording medium, sensing a readback signal at said second wavelength W₂ from said predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer to produce a fourth readback signal; and wherein said first flying height is calculated as a constant times the product of two terms, the first of said two terms being the product of said two wavelengths divided by the difference between said two wavelengths, the second of the two terms being the ratio of said first and third signals, expressed in decibels, subtracted from the ratio of said second and fourth signals, expressed in decibels. The method of claim 1, wherein said signal of constant periodicity T₁ is adapted to produce a readback signal having a spectral content containing a plurality of different frequencies, further comprising the steps of: simultaneously with said step of sensing a readback signal at a wavelength W₁ whilst said air bearing slider is positioned at said first flying height, sensing a readback signal at a second wavelength W n =nvT₁ (n=1, n is a positive number) from said predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer to produce a third readback signal; simultaneously with said step of sensing a readback signal at a wavelength W₁ whilst said air bearing slider is substantially in contact with said recording medium, sensing a readback signal at said second wavelength W n from said predetermined area of said recording medium with said magnetic transducer to produce a fourth readback signal; and wherein said first flying height is calculated as a constant times the product of two terms, the first term being a constant times said first velocity v divided by the difference in frequency between said first and third signals; the second term being the difference between the ratio expressed in decibels of said first and said third readback signals at said first and second wavelengths, and the ratio expressed in decibels of said second and fourth readback signals at said first and second wavelengths. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein n is odd. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein n = 3. A method as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, additionally comprising the step of phase sensitively sensing the amplitude of the spectral lines at said first and said second wavelengths. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising the step of continually sensing a readback signal from said predetermined area of said recording medium during the step of lowering the flying height, and determining the occurrence of contact of said magnetic transducer with said recording medium by sensing when the amplitude of said readback signal stabilizes. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the slider is supported on an actuator and, during said signal writing step, the actuator is positioned near to an end of travel crash stop. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, additionally comprising, during the step of lowering the flying height, the step of producing a repetitive motion of said magnetic transducer across said predetermined area of said recording medium so that the peak amplitude of said readback signal is sensed at said lowered flying height. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said step of sensing a readback signal at said lowered flying height includes providing a tracking bandpass filter (54) so that said signal sensing tracks said decreased velocity to said second velocity v₂. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said step of calculating said first flying height comprises calculating a plurality of said ratios and combining said ratios weighted according to their signal-to-noise ratio.

Inventors: BROWN, BYRON RICHARD, HU, HUNG LIANG, KLAASSEN, KLAAS BEREND, LUM, JOSEPH JACK, VAN PEPPEN, JACOBUS CORNELIS LEONARDUS, WERESIN, WALTER EUGENE
Applicants: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G11B5
IPC codes: G11B5, G11B21, G11B27, G01B7