System and method for power saving modes in multi-sensor magnetic recording

A method for power management in a hard disk drive (HDD) assembly including at least one disk, the disk including at least one track, and at least a first read sensor and a second read sensor, comprising:

• directing a read/write head including the first read sensor and the second read sensor to follow a track of the at least one disk;
• setting the first read sensor to an active power state;
• setting the second read sensor to an inactive power state;
• setting all readpath circuits associated with the second read sensor to an inactive power state;
• reading at least one analog readback signal through the first read sensor;
• processing the analog readback signal through an analog front-end including at least one analog front-end circuit to generate at least one input signal;
• sampling the at least one input signal through a first analog to digital converter at a first frequency to generate a first sampling signal;
• and
• generating a digital output signal from the first sampling signal through a digital signal processor.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions encoded thereon, said instructions executable by a computing device or processor to implement a method for power management in a hard disk drive (HDD) assembly including at least a first read sensor and a second read sensor, the method comprising:

• directing a read/write head including the first read sensor and the second read sensor to follow a track of the at least one disk;
• setting the first read sensor to at least one of an active power state and an inactive power state;
• setting the second read sensor to at least one of an active power state and an inactive power state;
• setting at least one readpath circuit associated with the second read sensor to at least one of an active power state and an inactive power state;
• reading at least one analog readback signal through the first read sensor;
• and processing the analog readback signal through at least one analog front-end circuit to generate at least one input signal;
• sampling the at least one input signal through a first analog to digital converter at a first frequency to generate a first sampling signal;
• sampling the at least one input signal through a second analog to digital converter at a second frequency to generate a second sampling signal;
• generating a digital output signal from the first sampling signal through a digital signal processor;
• and
• combining the first sampling signal and the second sampling signal through a digital signal processor at a third frequency to generate a digital output signal.