Dynamic Modeling and Control of a Piezo-Electric Dual-Stage Tape Servo Actuator

We have implemented the design of a dual-stage actuator tape head for enhanced reduction of lateral tape motion (LTM) disturbance. Our design consists of a conventional voice coil motor (VCM) and a micro-actuator for coarse and fine positioning, respectively. The micro-actuator, which is mounted on the VCM, uses a piezo crystal and allows following LTM up to the kHz regime, while the VCM follows low frequency LTM. Using step response measurements and a realization algorithm, we have created a multi-input discrete-time model of the dual-stage actuator. Based on the model, we designed and implemented a dual-stage controller, using a dual-input single-output approach based on a PQ method. The dual-stage controller controls the position of both actuators and enables an increased track-following bandwidth along with a control signal that is smaller in magnitude than that for a conventional single-stage tape head.