Increased areal density using a 2-dimensional approach

There is a drive toward achieving much higher track density in magnetic recording. Increase in track density will produce more interaction/crosstalk between adjacent tracks. The simulated variation of bit error rate (BER) as a result of increased inter-track interference (ITI) using a Viterbi Detector is presented in this paper. Results show that for a given BER and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), different levels of ITI can be tolerated depending on the code. Calculations suggest 2-dimensional modulation codes designed for a channel experiencing ITI can result in up to 23% gain in areal density.