Headway Technologies, Incorporated

Ittetsu Kitajima

Cherng-Chyi Han

Weihao Xu

Weisheng Hu

Xuhui Jin

Shengyuan Wang

Ethan Lo

Wen-Ding Huang

An optically shielded (thermally assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) head comprises a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) write head and a near-field transducer (NFT) having an emerging peg at the air-bearing surface (ABS). Self-aligned optical side shields (SA-OSS) are formed using a self-aligning process that positions the shields symmetrically relative to the emergent peg of the NFT. As a result of the symmetric positioning the down-track and cross-track near-field and near-field gradients are significantly sharpened.

Method of building self-aligned optical side shield structure

A method of forming a TAMR (thermally assisted magnetic recording) write head that uses weakly plasmonic materials that are mechanically strong and thermally stable to create plasmon near field energy. The replacement of highly plasmonic materials like Au with a weakly plasmonic material like Rh avoids the thermal deformations of softer metals like Au. To maintain the performance of the head, it includes pre-focusing structures that concentrate plasmon energy as it moves towards the air bearing surface (ABS). A waveguide blocker at the distal end of the waveguide enhances the plasmons at the interface between the blocker and the dielectric material at the distal end of the waveguide. A pair of symmetrically disposed optical side shields (OSS) are formed to either side of the pole tip and a weakly plasmonic optical field enhancer of sharply defined line-width further strengthens the optical field at its point of application. The resulting structure can be effectively used in a magnetic recording apparatus such as a hard disk drive.

Method of fabricating single Rh layer optical field enhancer with pre-focusing structures

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Ittetsu Kitajima