Heterogeneous integration of near field transducer components for heat-assisted magnetic recording heads

Abstract

Described are methods heterogeneous integration of epitaxial (crystalline) material onto a near field transducer (NFT) of a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head in a way that promotes robustness and improved performance of the NFT. While constructing NFTs with plasmonic disks terminating in single crystal (epitaxial) pegs may be desirable, such pegs cannot be directly formed on the NFT, and heterogeneous integration can result in interfacial voids that interrupt thermal contact and lower structural robustness. As such, after heterogeneous integration of a highly crystalline peg, a portion of the peg is removed and backfilled to improve the interface while leaving a single crystal portion of the peg intact.