Seagate Technology Incorporated

Peter W Kanas

Edward Charles Gage

Yuhang Cheng

Huazhou Lou

Kevin Richard Heim

Robert Dean Turner

Martin Liam McGarry

Shaikh Mubassar Ali

Peter Kevin McGeehin

Peter Kevin McGeenhin

A heat-assisted magnetic recording device is disposed in a hermetically sealed enclosure. The device includes a slider comprising a reader, a writer, and an optical waveguide configured to couple light from a light source to a near-field transducer situated at or near an air bearing surface of the slider. The near-field transducer comprises an enlarged portion and a peg extending from the enlarged portion in a direction of the air bearing surface. A fill gas is provided within the enclosure. The fill gas comprises a mixture of a low-density, inert gas and at least one gas that oxidizes carbon, where the total carbon oxidizing gas concentration of the fill gas is 3-50% by volume. In certain embodiments, the fill gas comprises a hydrogen concentration sufficient to retard oxidation of the peg when the peg is at an operating temperature associated with write operations.

Oxidizing or reducing atmosphere for heat-assisted magnetic recording

Growing community of inventors

Berkeley, CA, United States of America

Peter W Kanas