Patent ID: 7099257

Claim:
A method for overwriting data in a probe-based data storage device wherein data is represented by the presence and absence of pits formed in a storage surface by a probe of the device, the method comprising: coding input data such that successive bits of a first value in the coded input data are separated by at least one bit of the other value; generating overwrite data bits v 0 , v 1 , v 2 , . . . , from the coded input data bits b 0 , b 1 , b 2 , . . . , such that, if a pit represents a bit of said first value in the data storage device then v i ={overscore (b)} i−1 for i≧1 and v 0 has said first value, and if a pit represents a bit of said other value in the data storage device then v i =b i−1 for i≧1 and v 0 has said other value; and overwriting data on the storage surface with the overwrite data bits.