Increased VCM current resolution during track follow to decrease NRRO

1 . A data storage device, comprising:

one or more disks;

a voice coil motor (VCM) driver having a programmable transconductance (G m ) and configured to drive a VCM;

an actuator arm assembly comprising:

one or more disk heads; and

the VCM, wherein the VCM is configured to operate in at least a first mode and a second mode; and

one or more processing devices configured, individually or in combination, to control the actuator arm assembly to actuate the one or more disk heads over corresponding disk surfaces of the one or more disks, the one or more processing devices being further configured, individually or in combination, to:

determine a current mode of operation of the VCM, the current mode of operation comprising the first mode; and

transition the VCM from the current mode of operation to a new mode of operation, the new mode of operation comprising the second mode, wherein the transitioning comprises:

tuning the G m from a first transconductance value to a second transconductance value different from the first transconductance value by varying one or more of a first resistance, a second resistance, or a gain G S of a current sense amplifier (CSA) in the VCM driver.

2 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein:

the first mode comprises a track follow mode;

the second mode comprises a track seek mode; and

the second transconductance value associated with the track seek mode is higher than the first transconductance value associated with the track follow mode.

3 . The data storage device of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processing devices are further configured, individually or in combination, to perform the tuning of the G m by:

controlling the VCM to follow a first target track in the first mode, based at least in part on using the first transconductance value for the VCM driver;

identifying a second target track; and

seeking the VCM towards the second track in the second mode, based at least in part on using the second transconductance value for the VCM driver.

4 . The data storage device of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processing devices are further configured, individually or in combination, to:

tune the G m from the second transconductance value to a third transconductance value, based at least in part on detecting that a position error signal (PES) is below a threshold; and

control the VCM to follow the second target track in a third mode, based at least in part on using the third transconductance value for the VCM driver.

5 . The data storage device of claim 4 , wherein the third mode comprises the track follow mode.

6 . The data storage device of claim 4 , wherein one of:

the third transconductance value is equal or substantially equal to the first transconductance value; or

the third transconductance value is different from the first and second transconductance values.

7 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein:

the VCM driver comprises a plurality of tunable resistances, including at least a first tunable resistance and a second tunable resistance, wherein the first resistance is the first tunable resistance and the second resistance is the second tunable resistance; and

tuning the G m comprises adjusting a respective resistance value of at least one of the first and the second tunable resistances.

8 . The data storage device of claim 7 , wherein:

the first mode comprises a track follow mode;

the second mode comprises a track seek mode; and

one or more of:

a ratio of a respective resistance value of the first tunable resistance to the second tunable resistance is higher in the track seek mode as compared to the track follow mode,

a maximum VCM current is higher in the track seek mode as compared to the track follow mode, and

a current resolution is higher in the track follow mode as compared to the track seek mode.

9 . The data storage device of claim 7 , wherein:

the first tunable resistance is associated with an output of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) coupled to the VCM driver; and

the second tunable resistance is associated with an output of a current sense amplifier (CSA) of the VCM driver.

10 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the VCM driver comprises:

a plurality of tunable resistances, including at least a first tunable resistance and a second tunable resistance wherein the first resistance is the first tunable resistance and the second resistance is the second tunable resistance; and

wherein tuning the G m comprises adjusting at least one of (1) a respective resistance value of one or more of the first and the second tunable resistances, and (2) the gain G s of the CSA.

11 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the VCM driver is configured to drive the VCM:

using a linear or current control loop (CCL) signal when operating in the first mode, the first mode comprising a track follow mode; and

using a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal when operating in the second mode, the second mode comprising a track seek mode.

12 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the transitioning further comprises:

identifying a first switch over point and a second switch over point, the first switch over point corresponding to a first number of tracks remaining before arrival at a target track and the second switch over point corresponding to a second number of tracks remaining before arrival at the target track, the second number lower than the first number;

tuning, at the first switch over point, the G m from the second transconductance value to the first transconductance value, wherein the second transconductance value is higher than the first transconductance value; and

at the second switch over point, controlling the VCM to seek towards the target track by driving the VCM using a linear or current control loop (CCL) signal, and wherein the second switch over point occurs before the VCM transitions into the first mode, the first mode comprising a track follow mode.

13 . A method of operating a data storage device, comprising:

determining a current mode of operation of a voice coil motor (VCM) of the data storage device, wherein the VCM is configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode, the current mode of operation comprising the first mode, and wherein the VCM is configured to be driven using a VCM driver having a programmable transconductance (G m ); and

transitioning the VCM from the current mode of operation to a new mode of operation, the new mode of operation comprising the second mode, wherein the transitioning comprises:

tuning the G m from a first transconductance value to a second transconductance value different from the first transconductance value by varying one or more of a first resistance, a second resistance, or a gain G S of a current sense amplifier (CSA) in the VCM driver.

14 . One or more processing devices, comprising, individually or in combination:

means for determining a current mode of operation of a voice coil motor (VCM) of a data storage device, wherein the VCM is configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode, the current mode of operation comprising the first mode, and wherein the VCM is configured to be driven using a VCM driver having a programmable transconductance (G m ); and

means for transitioning the VCM from the current mode of operation to a new mode of operation, the new mode of operation comprising the second mode, wherein the means for transitioning comprises:

means for tuning the Gm from a first transconductance value to a second transconductance value different from the first transconductance value by varying one or more of a first resistance, a second resistance, or a gain GS of a current sense amplifier (CSA) in the VCM driver.