Channel Models and Detectors for Two-Dimensional Magnetic Recording

Two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR) is a novel recording architecture intended to support densities beyond those of conventional recording systems. The gains from TDMR come primarily from more powerful coding and signal processing algorithms that allow the bits to be packed more tightly on the disk, and yet be retrieved with acceptable error rates. In this paper, we present some preliminary results for an advanced channel model based on micromagnetic simulations, coined the Grain Flipping Probability model. This model requires a one-time computationally complex characterization phase, but subsequently provides fast and accurate two-dimensional (2-D) readback waveforms that include effects captured from micromagnetic simulations and the statistical effects derived from the granularity of the recording medium. We also show the performance of several detectors over a pre-existing TDMR channel model directly as a function of channel density rather than the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).