Coding efficiency and reliability in probe-based storage devices

High density probe-based storage devices use multiple, simultaneously accessed parallel channels for achieving high I/O data rates. This paper presents an analytical methodology for evaluating the performance of coding and interleaving schemes in such devices, when they are affected by burst errors. Markov processes are used to describe the burstiness of errors due to external disturbances and analytical formulas are provided to estimate the system reliability for various system parameters. Using this approach, the most appropriate system configuration, in terms of number of Reed-Solomon codewords, interleaving depth and coding rate can be determined for a given system reliability and storage efficiency.