Toolkit with MATLAB GUI for Learning Position Error Signals in Data Storage Systems

Embedded data storage systems are becoming indispensable tools for many domestic and industrial electronic products. While Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) remain the most cost-effective form of nonvolatile data storage, up and coming novel technologies such as Probe-Based Storage Systems (PBSSs) are gradually making their way into the data storage market. Unlike semiconductor memories, both HDD and PBSS use movable read/write heads for locating stored data bits. Therefore, the performance of the head positioning servomechanism of these systems plays a very important role in enhancing their storage capacities. Position Error Signal (PES), which defines the offset between the read head and the data track, is a critical element in ensuring high performance of the head positioning servomechanism and advanced methods of generating PES generation attention. This paper presents a toolkit that can be used for simulating and analyzing PES in different storage systems with movable heads. The developed toolkit with MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) can be used by students to enable them to understand and visualize the PES generation process. Engineers in the data storage industry can also benefit from this toolkit in their effort to develop new, improved demodulation schemes. The developed toolkit is user-friendly and portable, with the input data and structures of different components easily changeable for rapid generation, analysis and evaluation of servo signals in PBSS and magnetic recording systems.