Read-Write Analyzer Systems 4000 TDMR Series

The Read Write Analyzer Systems of 4000 TDMR Series – the RWA 4006 TDMR – is capable to operate at data rates of 5.5 Gbit/s.

The 4000 TDMR Series RWA Systems consist of two units:

• Read-Write Analyzer RWA 4000 TDMR series
• Signal Analyzer GSA 6000 series

The 4000 Series RWA Systems support UP14 and UP12 preamplifiers and the next generation front end cartridge/head amplifier designs on Guzik spinstands. Previous generation of head amplifiers together with UP11M are also supported by RWA-4000 TDMR Systems in one channel mode.

The 4000 TDMR Series RWA Systems can work with Guzik spinstands, non-Guzik spinstands, and Hard Disk Drives.

All-Digital System

The 4000 TDMR Series RWA System belongs to a new generation of Guzik test systems. Up-to three Read-back signals from HGA are sampled using the high-speed A/D Converters of GSA 6000 unit with sampling rate of 20 GSa/s and ultra-deep memory up to 32 GBytes per channel. The A/D converter chipset is provided by a major oscilloscope manufacturer. Therefore you can expect the same digitized signal quality as you would from high-end oscilloscopes.

RWA 4000 TDMR Read-Write Analyzer

The RWA 4000 TDMR Read-Write Analyzer incorporates the following features:

• Pattern Generator with data rates up to 5.5 Gbit/s (in RWA 4006 TDMR model), 1psec resolution of bit pre-compensation
• Filter matrix of four low-pass anti-aliasing filters and digital low-pass filter and high-pass filters to provide data decimation
• Synchronous and Coherent writing capability
• Universal all-digital Guzik and Drive servo decoder
• Front panel accessible larger size Chip Adapter daughter card, which supports integration of PRML channel chips
• Analog signal bandwidth up to 3.5 GHz

The spectral measurements are possible up to 3.5 GHz bandwidth.

The universal all-digital servo decoder seamlessly supports both Guzik servo and hard drive servo; switching between these two modes is done programmatically.  The hard drive servo decoder is very flexible and supports all major hard drive manufacturer servo formats including Chevron DTR servo. The drive servo decoder is also used to decode synchronization signals in synchronous writing mode.

The RWA 4000 TDMR has two integrated low-frequency digitizing channels for processing of Acoustic Emission sensor and/or Embedded Contact sensor outputs.

GSA 6044 Signal Analyzer

The GSA 6044 Signal Analyzer combines outstanding signal fidelity and waveform capture with an FPGA-based hardware processing back-end.  It delivers near real-time digital signal processing performance with built-in oscilloscope capability.

Noise Immunity for Parametric Measurements

Parametric measurements (amplitude, rise-fall time, asymmetry, etc) are performed using the averaged signal profile approach, when repetitive transitions of the incoming signal are averaged first, and then the parameters of the signal are measured using the averaged signal profile. This provides outstanding noise immunity and yields 1% accuracy of measurements for the signals with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) down to 12dB. 

High-Speed Processing

The common problem with any digital measurement is slow processing speed, which makes using the high-speed digitizers impractical for most production applications. Guzik system features FPGA-based processing, combined with high-speed Gen2 PCI-Express x8 link to PC for additional processing on Graphic-card processing units (such as NVidia GPUs). The parametric processing speed is 5.6 GSa/s, which means it is almost real-time processing for acquisition sampling rates up to 10 GSa/s (data occupies 70% of the track, servo takes 30%). All four digitizer channels can simultaneously acquire and process the data in parallel.

Fast Spectral Measurements

The spectral measurements are performed using a Fast Fourier Transform approach (FFT). The Fast Fourier Transform processing speed is approximately 1.5 GSa/s, which means one sector of data can be processed in less than six-sector timeframe; the result is thousands of spectral lines calculated at once. In other words, you collect data at 10 GSa/s for 100µs, process in 600µs, and get the full signal spectrum up to 3.5 GHz with resolution bandwidth 10 kHz – 500,000 spectral lines.

Algorithm Upgrades and Flexibility

The signal is digitized and stored in a memory. This allows for processing the signal using various algorithms to produce full range of measurements, such as parametric, spectral, jitter and eye diagram, etc. The important feature of a digital system is that measurements can be developed and added in the future without any hardware modifications. New tests arrive in a form of software/firmware upgrade.

Fast Data Transfer to PC

The Gen2 PCI-Express x8 data link from digital read channel to PC is capable of data transfer rates up to 2.4 GByte/s. This means the data transfer will not be a bottleneck in case you develop an algorithm processing data on a PC side using a GPU or CPU.

Oscilloscope-like Signal Monitoring

While the system performs measurements, you can simultaneously observe acquired signal on a PC screen. GSA 6044 has four input channels – three channels are connected to the RWA 4000 TDMR, while one more channel can be connected to other sources for observation purposes. You do not need an extra oscilloscope – the signal from all four channels is shown in a separate Signal Display applications running in parallel with WITE32 software.

Additional Tests and Measurements

The set of digital measurements available with GSA 6044 include:

• Digital parametric measurements, including pulse/slope average profile, with per-sector results
• Digital spectral measurements, including FFT and DFT, with per-sector results
• Digital media scanning with up to 16 independent defect detectors working in parallel in real time
• Jitter and Eye diagram measurements
• 3D Pulse Profile measurements for nano-scale magnetic field imaging

Channel Configurations

GSA 6044 can work in the following channel configurations:

• Four channel mode with 10 GSa/s per channel sampling rate, 4 GHz analog bandwidth, with 8 GByte memory per channel (upgradeable to 32 GByte).
• Two channel mode with 20 GSa/s per channel sampling rate, 6.5 GHz analog bandwidth, with 16 GByte memory per channel (upgradeable to 64 GByte).
• Single channel mode with 20 GSa/s per channel sampling rate, 6.5 GHz analog bandwidth, with 32 GByte memory per channel (upgradeable to 128 GByte).

System Integration Requirements

• RWA System 4000 TDMR Series (RWA 4000 TDMR Series and GSA 6000)
• Guzik Spinstand DTR 3000, Guzik Spinstand V2002, Canon Spinstand, or HDD
• WITE32 Revision 4.50 or greater
• Windows-based host computer with two spare PCI-Express 16x slots to accommodate Guzik PCI-Express Bridge card and processing GPU card

RWA System 4000 Series Models

For more information please refer to the following Guzik product bulletins:

• “Read-Write Analyzer RWA 4000” document P/N 02-107537,
• “GSA 6000 Series Guzik Signal Analyzers” document P/N 02-107547.

[1] The maximum data rate of the whole RWA/Spinstand test system is limited by the headamplifier IC.

This product is protected by the following US Patents:  6,469,862;  6,760,171;  6,785,085;  7,221,220; 7,408,495.