Channel-source laser-pulsing system architecture for thermal-assisted recording

A system comprising:

• a first integrated circuit comprising:
• means for generating a high-frequency signal for driving a heating element that heats magnetic media in a magnetic disk;
• and
• first means for synchronizing a phase of the high-frequency signal with a phase of a write data signal according to a predetermined setting, the write data signal controlling the writing of data to the magnetic disk;
• a second integrated circuit comprising:
• an adder circuit configured to receive the high-frequency signal and combine the high-frequency signal with a DC bias, and
• second means for synchronizing the phase of the high-frequency signal with the phase of the write data signal according to the predetermined setting;
• and
• an interconnect comprising a plurality of data paths coupling the first and second integrated circuits.

A system, comprising:

• a first integrated circuit comprising:
• means for generating a high-frequency signal for driving a heating element that heats magnetic media in a magnetic disk,
• means for synchronizing a phase of the high-frequency signal with a phase of a write data signal according to a predetermined setting, the write data signal controlling the writing of data to the magnetic disk, and
• a first memory configured to store a predetermined DC bias setting, wherein the DC bias is determined by the predetermined DC bias,
• a second integrated circuit comprising:
• an adder circuit configured to receive the high-frequency signal and combine the high-frequency signal with a DC bias;
• a second memory configured to store the predetermined DC bias setting;
• and
• an interconnect comprising a plurality of data paths coupling the first and second integrated circuits,
• wherein the first memory is configured to transmit the predetermined DC bias setting to the second memory via the interconnect.

A system, comprising:

• a first integrated circuit comprising:
• means for generating a high-frequency signal for driving a heating element that heats magnetic media in a magnetic disk;
• and
• means for synchronizing a phase of the high-frequency signal with a phase of a write data signal according to a predetermined setting, the write data signal controlling the writing of data to the magnetic disk;
• a second integrated circuit comprising:
• an adder circuit configured to receive the high-frequency signal and combine the high-frequency signal with a DC bias, and
• a feedback controller on the second integrated circuit configured to receive information based on environmental parameters of the system, the feedback controller configure to use the information to adjust the DC bias;
• and
• an interconnect comprising a plurality of data paths coupling the first and second integrated circuits.

A system, comprising:

• a first integrated circuit comprising:
• means for generating a high-frequency signal for driving a heating element that heats magnetic media in a magnetic disk;
• and
• means for synchronizing a phase of the high-frequency signal with a phase of a write data signal according to a predetermined setting, the write data signal controlling the writing of data to the magnetic disk;
• a second integrated circuit comprising:
• an adder circuit configured to receive the high-frequency signal and combine the high-frequency signal with a DC bias;
• and
• an interconnect comprising a plurality of data paths coupling the first and second integrated circuits, wherein the interconnect includes at least one data path assigned to each of the write data signal and a read data signal, the read data signal representing data bits read from the magnetic disk.

A method for generating a signal for driving a heating element that heats magnetic media in a magnetic disk in a hard disk drive, comprising:

• receiving a write data signal, the write data signal controlling the writing of data to the magnetic disk;
• generating a high-frequency signal for driving the heating element based on a clock signal within the hard disk drive;
• synchronizing a phase of the high-frequency signal with a phase of a write data signal according to predetermined settings;
• and
• combining the high-frequency signal with a DC bias signal, wherein a value of the DC bias changes based on an operational state of the hard disk drive.