Tdk Corporation

Takahiko Izawa

Kosuke Tanaka

Daisuke Miyauchi

Tsutomu Chou

Eiji Komura

Tetsuya Roppongi

Susumu Aoki

Keita Kawamori

Takeshi Tsutsumi

Shinji Hara

Kei Hirata

Katsuki Kurihara

Makoto Isogai

Tsutomu Chuo

A thermally-assisted magnetic head that has an air bearing surface (ABS) facing a recording medium and that performs magnetic recording while heating the recording medium includes: a magnetic recording element that includes a pole of which an edge part is positioned on the ABS and which generates magnetic flux traveling to the recording medium; a waveguide that is configured with a core through which light propagates and a cladding, surrounding a periphery of the core, at least one part of which extends to the ABS; a plasmon generator that faces a part of the core and that extends toward the ABS side; and a bank layer that is positioned between the plasmon generator and the pole, and of which an edge part on the ABS side protrudes relative to the plasmon generator.

Thermally-assisted magnetic head having bank layer between magnetic pole and plasmon generator

A heat-assisted magnetic write head includes a magnetic pole having an end surface exposed at an air bearing surface, a waveguide extending toward the air bearing surface to propagate light, a first pair of clads made of a first dielectric material having a refractive index lower than that of the waveguide, and sandwiching the waveguide in a track width direction, and a second pair of clads made of a second dielectric material having a refractive index lower than that of the first dielectric material, and sandwiching the waveguide in a thickness direction orthogonal to the track width direction. Further, the heat-assisted magnetic write head may include, between the magnetic pole and the waveguide, a plasmon generator generating near-field light from the air bearing surface, based on light propagating through the waveguide.

Heat-assisted magnetic write head, head gimbals assembly, head arm assembly, and magnetic disk device

A heat-assisted magnetic write head includes: a magnetic pole having an end surface exposed to an air bearing surface; a waveguide extending toward the air bearing surface to propagate light; a plasmon generator provided between the magnetic pole and the waveguide and generating near-field light from the air bearing surface, based on the light propagated through the waveguide; and a clad provided to surround both the waveguide and the plasmon generator collectively, the clad having a refractive index lower than that of the waveguide, and exhibiting a thermal conductivity higher than that of the waveguide. The clad may be provided to collectively surround the magnetic pole, as well.

A thermally-assisted magnetic recording head includes: a medium facing surface; a magnetic pole; a waveguide including a core and a cladding; a plasmon generator; and a protruding member. The protruding member is disposed between the medium facing surface and a front end face of the core facing toward the medium facing surface. The protruding member has a first end face located in the medium facing surface, and a second end face facing toward the front end face of the core and receiving light having propagated through the core and passed through the front end face. The protruding member is formed of a metal different from both a material forming the magnetic pole and a material forming the plasmon generator. The protruding member is heated and expanded by the light received at the second end face, so that the first end face gets protruded toward a magnetic recording medium.

Thermally-assisted magnetic recording head including a protruding member

A thermally-assisted magnetic recording head includes a waveguide, a near-field optical device which emits near-field light from a near-field-light-generating end surface that forms a portion of an opposed-to-medium surface, and a magnetic pole generates write field from its end on the opposed-to-medium surface side. The near-field optical device includes a contact-to-waveguide surface, and a propagation edge configured to propagate there on the surface plasmon excited by the light. A gap between a near-field optical device-opposed surface of the magnetic pole and the propagation edge of the near-field optical device is larger at a section far from the end on the opposed-to-medium surface side than that at a section near the opposed-to-medium surface side.

Thermally-assisted magnetic recording head having a gap between propagation edge and magnetic pole

A plasmon generator has an outer surface including a plasmon exciting part that faces an evanescent light generating surface of a waveguide. The outer surface further includes first and second inclined surfaces that increase in distance from each other with increasing distance from the plasmon exciting part, and a front end face. The front end face has first and second portions that are connected to each other into a V-shape. The first portion includes a first side lying at an end of the first inclined surface. The second portion includes a second side lying at an end of the second inclined surface. An angle formed between a lower part of the first side and a lower part of the second side is smaller than that formed between an upper part of the first side and an upper part of the second side.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Takahiko Izawa