Abstract:
A hard disk drive prevents a data read error by optimizing a bias current supplied to an MR-element. Signal patterns of given amplitudes are written in a data area of the recording media, and sample-and-hold values of a read signal in the above signal patterns are read and stored while changing the bias current supplied to a selected MR-element. The stored sample-and-hold values are searched to select a sample-and-hold value equal to the amplitude of the signal patterns written in the data area, and the bias current supplied to the MR-element is determined as an optimal value to obtain the selected sample-and-hold value. The optimal value of the bias current may be written in a maintenance area of the recording media and is then read upon power up of the hard disk drive.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from an application entitled Method for Optimizing Mr-Bias Current earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Mar. 4, 1998, and there duly assigned Ser. No. 7168/1998 by that Office. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a magneto resistive (MR) head, and in particular, to a technique for optimizing an MR-bias current by measuring an amplitude of a signal read through an MR-head. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A magnetic disk storage, such a hard disk drive, normally employs an MR-head, with an increase in the storage capacity. The MR-head is composed of a thin film head and a MR-sensor for data reading. The MR-sensor changes a resistance according to a change of the magnetic flux from a storage medium, and the change of the resistance is expressed as a read signal. Further, the MR-sensor is provided with a bias current to express the change of the magnetic flux as the read signal. The bias current supplied to the MR-head should be set such that the read signal should be linear with respect to the change of the magnetic flux. Improper setting of the MR-bias current may cause asymmetry and baseline shift of the read signal. 
     When the MR-bias current is set to an optimal value, the positive and negative pulses of the read signal from the MR-sensor are symmetrical with respect to the base line. However, when the MR-bias current is improperly set, the base lines are shifted up and down, causing an asymmetry of the read signal and a signal component adjacent to the shifted base line may be erroneously considered to be normal data, resulting in a data read error. 
     The following patents each disclose features in common with the present invention but do not teach or suggest the specifically recited technique for optimizing the MR-bias current in accordance with the present invention: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,716 for METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC BIAS CONTROL issued to Suzuki, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,719 for MAGNETIC DISK DRIVE WITH SENSING CURRENT ADJUSTMENT OF MR HEAD issued to Tsuyoshi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,291 for VOTAGE MEASUREMENT CIRCUIT FOR A MAGNETORESISTIVE HEAD INSTALLED IN A DISK ENCLOSURE issued to Contreras et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,782 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING OPTIMAL BIAS CURRENT TO A MAGNETIC HEAD issued to Kohno et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,086 for DYNAMIC TRANSDUCER BIASING SIGNAL AMPLIFYING CIRCUITRY issued to Harr, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,080 for BIAS SERVO LOOP FOR MAGNETO-RESISTIVE READ/WRITE HEAD issued to Ottesen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,295 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BIASING A MAGNETO-RESISTIVE HEAD issued to Bailey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,411 for MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS WITH REPRODUCING HEAD OF MAGNETORESISTIVE TYPE HAVING CONTROL OF MAGNETIC BIAS LEVEL issued to Nishiyama et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,054 for METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MINIMIZING THE ERROR RATE OF A DIGITAL RECORDING SYSTEM BY PREDICTING THE OPTIMAL BIAS CURRENT issued to Youngquist et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,967 for METHOD OF AUTOMATICALLY OPTIMIZING THE RECORDING BIAS FOR A VIDEO SIGNAL, AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD issued to Mederer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,602 for ELECTRICAL CALIBRATION ARRANGEMENTS issued to Crick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,179 for AUTOMATIC RECORDING BIAS CURRENT SETTING APPARATUS issued to Inami et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,253 for MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE issued to Kamei et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,273 for TAPE RECORDING APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH A BIAS CONTROL DEVICE issued to Ishii et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,730 for MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE issued to Kakowaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,094 for METHOD AND APPARATUS DETECTING AND SETTING OPTIMUM TAPE RECORDING BIAS issued to Ohtake et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,311 for RECORDING BIAS SETTING DEVICE FOR A MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS issued to Ohkawara, U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,979 for BIAS LEVEL SETTING CIRCUIT FOR TAPE RECORDERS WITH STAIRCASE HIGH FREQUENCY SIGNAL issued to Kitamura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,265 for AUTOMATIC TAPE BIAS ADJUSTING AND SIGNAL COMPENSATION RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS issued to Kogure et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,313 for BIAS CURRENT SETTING APPARATUS IN A MAGNETIC RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS issued to Mouri, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,153 for DIGITALLY CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC BIAS CIRCUIT FOR MAGNETIC RECORDING issued to Tin. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a technique for preventing a data read error by optimizing a bias current supplied to an MR-element in a magnetic disk storage which reads information written on a magnetic disk by using the MR-element. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an MR-bias current optimization technique capable of contributing to an increase in the production yield and reliability of a hard disk drive, by setting an MR-bias current in conformity with the properties of MR-elements by reading/writing a signal having a given write pattern in a hard disk drive which reads information written on the disk using the MR-elements. 
     To achieve the above object, a technique for optimizing an MR-bias current in a hard disk drive including MR-elements, recording media and a bias current circuit for supplying a bias current to the respective MR-elements includes: writing signal patterns of given amplitudes in a specified area of the recording media; reading sample-and-hold values of a read signal in the signal patterns while changing the bias current supplied to a selected MR-element, and storing the read sample-and-hold values; and searching the stored sample-and-hold values to select a sample-and-hold value equal to the amplitude of the signal patterns written in the specified area, determining the bias current supplied to the MR-element as an optimal value to obtain the selected sample-and-hold value, and storing the optimal value of the bias current in the reading media. 
     The optimal value of the bias current may be written in a maintenance area of the recording media and is then read upon power up of the hard disk drive. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein: 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing analog read signals picked up from a disk through an MR-sensor; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hard disk drive; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a hard disk drive having an MR-bias current circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a technique for optimizing an MR-bias current according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a write pattern of the read signal according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 5B is a diagram showing waveforms of a read signal and control signals according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the like reference numerals denote the like and equivalent elements. 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the analog read signal picked up by the MR-sensor from a disk, wherein FIG. 1A shows a waveform of a normally read signal when the MR-bias current is set to an optimal value, and FIG. 1B shows a waveform of the read signal having the baseline shift phenomenon due to the improper setting of the MR-bias current. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numerals “c”, “d” and “e” denote the baselines. When the MR-bias current is set to the optimal value, (+) pulse and (−) pulse of the read signal are symmetrical on the basis of the baseline “c”, as shown in FIG.  1 A. However, when the MR-bias current is improperly set, the baselines “d” and “e” are shifted up and down, as shown in FIG.  1 B. When the baseline is shifted causing asymmetry of the read signal, a signal component adjacent to the shifted baseline may be erroneously considered to be normal data, resulting in a data read error. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hard disk drive having two disks  10  and four MR-heads  12  facing the corresponding surfaces of the disks  10 . Referring to FIG. 2, the disks  10  are mounted on an axle of a spindle motor  34  and the respective surfaces of the disks  10  face the corresponding MR-heads  12 . Each of the disks  10  has concentric tracks, a parking zone where the MR-heads  12  are located during power-off of the hard disk drive, and a maintenance area where bad sector information and various system maintenance information is written. Each of the MR-heads  12  is composed of a thin film head for data writing and an MR-sensor for data reading, and is mounted on an arm  14  extending from an arm assembly of a rotary voice coil motor (VCM)  28 . For reading data, a pre-amplifier  16  pre-amplifies a read signal picked up by one of the MR-heads  12  and provides the pre-amplified read signal to a read/write channel circuit  18 . For writing data, the pre-amplifier  16  writes encoded write data received from the read/write channel circuit  18  on the disk  10  through a selected one of the MR-heads  12 . The read/write channel circuit  18  decodes the read signal input from the pre-amplifier  16  and provides the decoded read data and a clock pulse according to the read signal to a DDC (Disk Data Controller)  36 . Further, the read/write channel circuit  18  encodes write data WDATA input from the DDC  36  and provides the encoded write data to the pre-amplifier  16 . Besides, the read/write channel circuit  18  includes a servo demodulator for demodulating (detecting) various servo information from the read signal input from the pre-amplifier  16  and provides the demodulated servo information to a microcontroller  22  and a gate array (not shown). The DDC  36  controls data paths between a host computer and the disks  10 , under the control of the microcontroller  22 . Further, the DDC  36  interfaces data between the host computer and the microcontroller  22 . 
     The microcontroller  22  controls the DDC  36  in response to a read/write command received from the host computer, and controls track seeking and track following. For example, the microcontroller  22  controls track following of the MR-heads  12  in response to a position error signal received from the servo demodulator, the position error signal being converted to a digital position error signal by an internal analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Further, the microcontroller  22  performs servo control according to various servo control signals output from the gate array. In addition, the microcontroller  22  outputs control signals for reading various servo information written on the disks  10  (e.g., a servo gate signal, a strobe signal and a reset signal) to the read/write channel circuit  18 . A digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  24  converts a digital position control signal for the MR-heads  12 , generated from the microcontroller  22 , to an analog position control signal. A VCM driver  26  provides the VCM  28  with a current I(t) for driving an actuator in response to the position control signal input from the DAC  24 . The VCM  28  mounted on a side of the actuator, on another side of which the MR-heads  12  are mounted, moves the MR-heads  12  horizontally over the disks  10  in reply to the direction and level of the current I(t) input from the VCM driver  26 . A motor controller  30  controls a spindle motor driver  32  according to a rotation control signal for the disks  10  generated from the microcontroller  22 . The spindle motor driver  32  drives the spindle motor  34  to rotate the disks  10 , under the control of the motor controller  32 . A buffer memory  38  connected to the DDC  36  temporarily stores data communicated between the hard disk drive and the host computer. A memory  40  connected to the microcontroller  22  consists of a ROM (Read Only Memory) for storing a drive control program according to the present invention and a RAM (Random Access Memory) for temporarily storing data generated during control of the hard disk drive. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a hard disk drive having an MR-bias current circuit  19  according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the MR-bias current circuit  19  includes a resistor R 1  connected to the pre-amplifier  16 , a resistor R 2  connected between the pre-amplifier  16  and the ground, and a DAC  21  connected between the resistor R 1  and the microcontroller  22 . As illustrated, since an MR-bias current I is the sum of a current I 1  flowing through the resistor R 1  and a current I 2  flowing through the resistor R 2 , it is possible to control the MR-bias current I by changing a digital control input value to the DAC  21  to vary the current I 1  flowing through the resistor R 1 . The MR-bias current circuit  19  is well known in the art. 
     FIG. 4 shows the procedure for optimizing the MR-bias current according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5A shows a write pattern of the read signal, and FIG. 5B shows waveforms of the read signal and the control signals according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, during a manufacturing process, P, Q and R burst signals are written in a data area and, an active interval of a servo gate signal SG is then extended to an area where the P, Q and R burst signals are written. In the active interval of the SG signal, the MR-bias current is optimized by repeatedly reading a sample-and-hold value. 
     Referring to FIG. 5A, the write pattern includes a servo area where A, B C and D servo burst signals are written and the data area where P, Q and R burst signals are written. The A to D servo burst signals are written in a specific pattern for controlling on-track of the MR-heads  12 , and the P, Q and R burst signals have a specific pattern for optimizing the MR-bias current. The P, Q and R burst signals are written in the data area in the manufacturing process by using a direct write mode. In the specification, it is assumed that the P, Q and R burst signals are written in the pattern of “000000”, “10101010101” and “000000”, respectively. The direct write mode mentioned above refers to a mode prepared in the read/write channel circuit  18 , for directly writing user data on the disks  10  by bypassing the encoding and scrambling functions. The reason for writing the P, Q and R burst signals in a front region of the data area is to prevent maloperation of the servo control. 
     Reference will be made to a technique for optimizing the MR-bias current in a burn-in process which is a part of the hard disk drive manufacturing process, with reference to FIGS. 4 to  5 B. Initially, the microcontroller  22  writes the P, Q and R burst signals in step  50 . In writing the burst signals, the microcontroller  22  first sets the direct write mode and writes “000000”, “10101010101” and “000000” in the leading portion of the data area. Here, the read signal picked up by the MR-head  12  is shown in FIG. 5B, and the sample-and-hold values of the P, Q and R burst signals have the minimum, maximum and minimum values, respectively. 
     After writing the P, Q and R burst signals, the microcontroller  22  extends in step  52  an active interval of the SG signal up to an area where the R burst signal is written. Further, in the step  52 , the microcontroller  22  outputs a strobe signal and a reset signal shown in FIG. 5B to the read/write channel circuit  18 , so as to read the sample-and-hold values of the burst signals written respectively in the servo and data areas. In FIG. 5B, waveforms A, B, C and D show amplitudes of the A, B, C and D servo burst signals which are sampled and held in the read/write channel circuit  18 , and in particular, the waveforms A, B and C represent that the P, Q and R burst signals are sampled and held by the read/write channel circuit  18  at the falling edges of the reset signal. Meanwhile, the microcontroller  22  stores the above read values in the memory  40  in step  54 , and checks in step  56  whether the read times is smaller than a predetermined value. If the read times is smaller than the predetermined value, the microcontroller  22  changes the digital control input value to the DAC  21  in step  64  so as to vary an output voltage of the DAC  21  and thereafter, returns to the step  52 . That is, the microcontroller  22  repeats the steps  52  through  56  to change the MR-bias current step by step, until the read times is equal to the predetermined value. In this condition, the microcontroller  22  reads the sample-and-hold values of the P, Q and R burst signals and stores the read values in the memory  40 . 
     Meanwhile, if the read times is equal to the predetermined value, the microcontroller  22  searches in step  58  the read values stored in the memory  40  and select an output voltage of the DAC  21  where the P and R burst signals have the minimum amplitude and the Q burst signal has the maximum amplitude, because the P, Q and R burst signals are written in the data area as the minimum, maximum and minimum values, respectively. Therefore, the microcontroller  22  can set an MR-bias current supply condition of preventing the data read error through the steps  50  to  58 . In step  60 , the microcontroller  22  stores in a data storage a digital control input value corresponding to the output voltage of the DAC  21  selected in step  58 . For the data storage, the maintenance area of the disks  10  or a nonvolatile memory can be used. 
     The microcontroller  22  reads in step  62  the digital control input value stored in the data storage and outputs it to the DAC  21  in the MR-bias current circuit  19 , to perform a data read operation. The data read operation after the step  62  refers to a process performed after the burn-in process of steps  50  through  58  or a condition after shipment of the products. 
     In this way, the optimal digital control input value for the respective MR-heads  12  is written in the maintenance area of the disks  10 . Each time the hard disk drive is powered up, the microcontroller  22  reads the digital control input value written in the maintenance area and outputs it to the DAC  21  in the MR-bias current circuit  19 , thereby preventing the data read error. 
     In summary, a signal having a given write pattern is written in the data area and then read while changing an output voltage of the DAC  21  of the MR-bias current circuit  19 . If the amplitude of the read signal is equal to the write pattern, the digital control input value corresponding to the output voltage of the DAC  21  is set to an optimal value, so as to optimize the MR-bias current. It is possible to prevent the data read error through optimization of the MR-bias current, thereby enhancing the production yield and the reliability of the hard disk drive. 
     While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiment of the present invention, it is a mere exemplary application. Thus, it is to be clearly understood that many variations can be made by anyone skilled in the art within the scope and spirit of the present invention.