Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Tariq Iqbal

Joseph M Viglione

Nevin A Archibald

Disclosed are techniques related to cluster-based defect detection testing for disk drives. A disk drive comprises a disk, a moveable head to scan the tracks of the disk, and a defect detection circuit to detect defects on the disk scanned by the moveable head. The disk drive includes a microprocessor for controlling operations in the disk drive including cluster-based defect detection. The microprocessor under the control of a cluster detection program defines a scan window. The scan window corresponds to an area of the disk scanned by the moveable head. The microprocessor under the control of the cluster detection program further defines a cluster threshold corresponding to a minimum number of defects required to occur within the scan window and identifies a defect cluster if a cluster threshold of defects occurs within the scan window. By identifying defect clusters on the disk these defect clusters can be margined.

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Corona, CA, United States of America

Tariq Iqbal