Amplitude defect detection and correction in magnetic storage

1. A system for processing a signal, comprising:

a defect detector configured to receive an input signal and to determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion, wherein:

the defect detector is configured to determine the location of the defect portion within the input signal by performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

the defect detector is configured to determine the location of the defect portion within the input signal by permitting a transition from the defective state to the normal state only if the defective state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times;

a signal hardware processor configured to generate an adjusted signal by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the signal processor is configured to perform the adjustment prior to error correction decoding; and

an error correction decoder configured to perform error correction decoding on the adjusted signal.

2. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the defect detector is configured to determine the location of the defect portion using one or more of the following: a minimum defect length or a minimum amplitude drop.

3. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the defect detector and the signal processor are configured to operate in the event error correction decoding fails.

4. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the error correction decoder includes at least one of the following: a Reed-Solomon decoder or a low-density parity-check code (LDPC) decoder.

5. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the defect detector is configured to perform one or more of the following: a moving average, a squaring function, or down sampling.

6. A method for processing a signal, comprising:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor, wherein:

determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal includes performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal includes permitting a transition from the defective state to the normal state only if the defective state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times;

generating an adjusted signal, using the processor, by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the adjustment occurs prior to error correction decoding; and

performing error correction decoding on the adjusted signal using the processor.

7. The method recited in claim 6 , wherein determining the location of the defect portion includes using one or more of the following: a minimum defect length or a minimum amplitude drop.

8. The method recited in claim 6 , wherein the steps of determining the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion and generating the adjusted signal are performed in the event error correction decoding fails.

9. The method recited in claim 6 , wherein decoding information associated with the adjusted signal includes using at least one of the following: a Reed-Solomon code or a low-density parity-check code (LDPC) code.

10. The method recited in claim 6 , wherein determining the location of the defect portion and/or the amplitude of the defect portion includes performing one or more of the following: a moving average, a squaring function, or down sampling.

11. A computer program product for processing a signal, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor, wherein:

the computer instructions for determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal include computer instructions for performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

the computer instructions for determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal include computer instructions for permitting a transition from the defective state to the normal state only if the defective state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times;

generating an adjusted signal, using the processor, by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the adjustment occurs prior to error correction decoding; and

performing error correction decoding on the adjusted signal using the processor.

12. A system for processing a signal, comprising:

a defect detector configured to receive an input signal and to determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion, wherein:

the defect detector is configured to determine the location of the defect portion within the input signal by performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

the defect detector is configured to determine the location of the defect portion within the input signal by permitting a transition from the normal state to the defective state only if the normal state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times;

a signal hardware processor configured to generate an adjusted signal by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the signal processor is configured to perform the adjustment prior to error correction decoding; and

an error correction decoder configured to perform error correction decoding on the adjusted signal.

13. The system recited in claim 12 , wherein the defect detector and the signal processor are configured to operate in the event error correction decoding fails.

14. The system recited in claim 12 , wherein the error correction decoder includes at least one of the following: a Reed-Solomon decoder or a low-density parity-check code (LDPC) decoder.

15. A method for processing a signal, comprising:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor, wherein:

determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal includes performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal includes permitting a transition from the normal state to the defective state only if the normal state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times;

generating an adjusted signal, using the processor, by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the adjustment occurs prior to error correction decoding; and

performing error correction decoding on the adjusted signal using the processor.

16. The method recited in claim 15 , wherein the steps of determining the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion and generating the adjusted signal are performed in the event error correction decoding fails.

17. A computer program product for processing a signal, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor, wherein:

the computer instructions for determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal include computer instructions for performing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) using a trellis;

the trellis includes a defect state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being defective and a normal state that is associated with a sample in the input signal being normal; and

the computer instructions for determining the location of the defect portion within the input signal include computer instructions for permitting a transition from the normal state to the defective state only if the normal state has been consecutively occupied more than a specified number of times.

18. A system for processing a signal, comprising:

a defect detector configured to receive an input signal and to determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion;

a signal hardware processor configured to generate an adjusted signal by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the signal processor is configured to perform the adjustment prior to error correction decoding; and

an error correction decoder configured to perform error correction decoding on the adjusted signal, wherein:

the adjusted signal is associated with a first minimum defect length and a first minimum amplitude drop; and

in the event the error correction decoder fails when operating on the adjusted signal associated with the first minimum defect length and the first minimum amplitude drop, the defect detector is further configured to determine the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion using one or more of the following: a second minimum defect length different from the first minimum defect length or a second minimum amplitude drop different from the first minimum amplitude drop.

19. The system recited in claim 18 , wherein the defect detector and the signal processor are configured to operate in the event error correction decoding fails.

20. The system recited in claim 18 , wherein the error correction decoder includes at least one of the following: a Reed-Solomon decoder or a low-density parity-check code (LDPC) decoder.

21. A method for processing a signal, comprising:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor;

generating an adjusted signal, using the processor, by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the adjustment occurs prior to error correction decoding; and

performing error correction decoding on the adjusted signal using the processor, wherein:

the adjusted signal is associated with a first minimum defect length and a first minimum amplitude drop; and

the method further includes: in the event error correction decoding fails when operating on the adjusted signal associated with the first minimum defect length and the first minimum amplitude drop, determining the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion using one or more of the following: a second minimum defect length different from the first minimum defect length or a second minimum amplitude drop different from the first minimum amplitude drop.

22. The method recited in claim 21 , wherein the steps of determining the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion and generating the adjusted signal are performed in the event error correction decoding fails.

23. A computer program product for processing a signal, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving an input signal at a processor;

determine a location of a defect portion within the input signal and an amplitude of the defect portion using the processor;

generating an adjusted signal, using the processor, by adjusting the amplitude of the defect portion using the determined location of the defect portion and the determined amplitude of the defect portion, wherein the adjustment occurs prior to error correction decoding; and

performing error correction decoding on the adjusted signal using the processor, wherein:

the adjusted signal is associated with a first minimum defect length and a first minimum amplitude drop; and

the computer program product further comprises computer instructions for: in the event error correction decoding fails when operating on the adjusted signal associated with the first minimum defect length and the first minimum amplitude drop, determining the location of the defect portion and the amplitude of the defect portion using one or more of the following: a second minimum defect length different from the first minimum defect length or a second minimum amplitude drop different from the first minimum amplitude drop.