A 54 Mhz BiCMOS Digital Equalizer For Magnetic Disk Drives
K. Fishert, P.S. Bednarz, J.L. Kouloheris, Burt W. Fowler, J.M. Cioffi, A. El Garnal · 1992
Until recently, only analog bit-detectors have been available for high-speed magnetic-disk recording. Because of high data-rates and strict power consumption limits, digital approaches have been deemed unrealistic. With emerging technologies such as BiCMOS, digital techniques can now more easily bc utilized. This paper reports the first known fully-digital decision feedback equalizer (DFE) circuit applied to high-speed magnetic recording. Techniques such as DFE can potentially improve the reliability of detected bits, effectively making higher disk-drive storage capacities possible. The experimental RAM-DFE IC takes into account many aspects of the recording channel and digital implementation to achieve high performance and low complexity.