MEDIA NOISE LOW-FLY HEIGHT TEST FOR A DISC DRIVE

摘要

Method (200) and apparatus (300) for characterizing the flight characteristics of a read/write head (118). A disc (109) is accelerated to a selected rotational velocity sufficient to aerodynamically support the head. The head is positioned over a portion of the disc non-accessible to customer data and a magnetoresistive element of the read/write is biased using a suitable voltage or current. A control circuit (306) obtains a media noise landing signature (170, 308) as the element transduces white noise from the disc, and identifies the head as a low-flying head in relation to the rotational velocity of the disc at which the landing signature occurs.