Differential interface transmission of fly-height control data

1. A method for controlling fly-height of a read/write (RW) head, the method comprising:

in response to a servo gate signal, applying an FHC mode signal; and

in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting FHC data over a differential interface to a preamplifier disposed in a head-disk assembly;

wherein the transmitting FHC data over the differential interface comprises, in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting the FHC data from a RW channel to the preamplifier through a first differential interface port; and

in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting a clock signal that is synchronized with the FHC data from the RW channel to the preamplifier through a second differential interface port, wherein the first differential interface port and the second differential interface port each include differential signaling circuitry within the RW channel and the preamplifier.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying an FHC mode signal comprises, in response to the servo gate signal, toggling a mode signal from a read/write (RW) data mode signal to the FHC mode signal.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the toggling the mode signal comprises toggling, by the RW channel that receives the servo gate signal, the mode signal from the RW data mode signal to the FHC mode signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

decoding the FHC data based, in part, on the clock signal; and

adjusting the fly-height of the RW head based on the decoded FHC data.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting a start bit signal from the RW channel to the preamplifier through the first differential interface port prior to transmitting the FHC data during an FHC cycle.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising determining synchronization parameters for the FHC data based on the start bit signal including:

determining an FHC clock interval by counting pulses of the clock signal within the preamplifier over an interval of the start bit signal; and

generating an FHC clock signal based on the FHC clock interval.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

decoding the FHC data based, in part, on the FHC clock signal; and

adjusting the fly-height of the RW head based on the decoded FHC data.

8. A system for controlling fly-height of a read/write (RW) head, the system comprising:

a read/write (RW) channel configured to:

toggle a mode signal from a read/write (RW) data mode signal to a fly-height control (FHC) mode signal in response to a servo gate signal; and

in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting FHC data over a differential interface to a preamplifier disposed in a head-disk assembly;

wherein the RW channel is configured to transmit the FHC data from the RW channel to the preamplifier through a first differential interface port that includes differential signaling circuitry within the RW channel and the preamplifier; and

wherein the RW channel is configured to transmit a clock signal that is synchronized with the FHC data from the RW channel to the preamplifier through a second differential interface port that includes differential signaling circuitry within the RW channel and the preamplifier;

a preamplifier decoder configured to decode the FHC data based, in part, on the clock signal; and

a fly-height controller configured to adjust the fly-height of the RW head based on the decoded FHC data.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the differential interface comprises differential signaling circuitry for transmitting complementary signal pairs.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the RW channel is configured to, in response to the FHC mode signal, transmit a start bit signal from the RW channel to the preamplifier through the first differential interface port prior to transmitting the FHC data during an FHC cycle.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising preamplifier logic configured to determine synchronization parameters for the FHC data based on the start bit signal including:

determining an FHC clock interval by counting pulses of the clock signal within the preamplifier over an interval of the start bit signal; and

generating an FHC clock signal based on the FHC clock interval.

12. A method for controlling fly-height of a read/write (RW) head, the method comprising:

during a seek interval:

transmitting fly-height control (FHC) data to a preamplifier within a hard disk assembly (HDA), wherein the FHC data includes FHC data for one or more sectors within a target track;

wherein the transmitting FHC data to the preamplifier comprises, in response to a FHC mode signal, transmitting the FHC data from a RW channel to the preamplifier through a first differential interface port; and

in response to the FHC mode signal, transmitting a clock signal that is synchronized with the FHC data from the RW channel to the preamplifier through a second differential interface port, wherein the first differential interface port and the second differential interface port each include differential signaling circuitry within the RW channel and the preamplifier;

recording the FHC data within the preamplifier;

tracking servo sector signals to determine a sector identifier; and

following the seek interval, using the sector identifier to access FHC data recorded within the preamplifier that corresponds to the sector identifier.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the tracking servo sector signals to determine a sector identifier comprises:

initializing a counter in response to a servo sync index signal;

detecting a next servo sector signal; and

incrementing the counter in response to the next servo sector signal.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising transmitting a sector pulse from the RW channel to the preamplifier over a differential interface port in response to detecting the next servo sector signal, and wherein the incrementing the counter comprises incrementing the counter in response to detecting the sector pulse.