Read/write channel

A method, comprising:

• providing a read path, the read path including:
• a thermal asperity compensation unit for thermal asperity compensation;
• a variable gain amplifier for adjusting an amplitude of a read signal;
• an asymmetry control unit to compensate for magneto-resistive asymmetry;
• a continuous time filter to attenuate high frequency noise;
• a finite impulse response filter to provide equalization of said read signal;
• ii an interpolated timing recovery unit for sequence recovery:
• a sync byte detector for providing sync mark detection;
• and
• a Viterbi detector;
• providing a write path, including:
• a read/write interface for interfacing write data;
• an encoder for encoding said write data;
• and
• a PECL driver;
• and
• providing a servo path, including:
• said variable gain amplifier;
• said continuous time filter;
• said finite impulse response filter;
• and
• a servo synchronizer for determining time intervals needed for peak detection.