Heat-assisted recording head having sub wavelength mirror formed of first and second materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11264053-B2
Application number	US-202117216017-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2021
Priority date	Apr 29, 2019
Publication date	Mar 1, 2022
Grant date	Mar 1, 2022

Abstract

A recording head has a near-field transducer proximate a media-facing surface of the recording head. The near-field transducer extends a first distance away from the media-facing surface. A waveguide overlaps and delivers light to the near-field transducer. Two subwavelength focusing mirrors are at an end of the waveguide proximate the media-facing surface. The subwavelength mirrors are on opposite crosstrack sides of the near-field transducer and separated from each other by a crosstrack gap. The subwavelength focusing mirrors each include a first material at the media-facing surface and a liner that covers an edge of the mirror.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A recording head comprising:
a near-field transducer proximate a media-facing surface of the recording head, the near-field transducer extending a first distance away from the media-facing surface;
a waveguide that overlaps and delivers light to the near-field transducer; and
a pair of subwavelength focusing mirrors at an end of the waveguide proximate the media-facing surface and extending a second distance away from the media-facing surface that is less than the first distance, the subwavelength mirrors on opposite crosstrack sides of the near-field transducer and separated from each other by a crosstrack gap, the subwavelength focusing mirrors each comprising:
a first material at the media-facing surface; and
a liner that covers an edge of the subwavelength focusing mirror that faces the near-field transducer, the liner formed of a plasmonic material, the first material more mechanically robust than the plasmonic material.

2. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the crosstrack gap is less than 300 nm.

3. The recording head of claim 2 , wherein the crosstrack gap is less than 100 nm.

4. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises one of Rh, Ir, Pt, Pd, Ru, or their alloys.

5. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises one of a ceramic material or a magnetic material.

6. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the plasmonic material comprises one of Au, Ag, Cu, Al or their alloys.

7. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein each subwavelength focusing mirrors further comprises a second material stacked on the first material, the second material facing away from the media-facing surface, the liner covering the second material at the edge of the subwavelength focusing mirror.

8. The recording head of claim 7 , wherein the second material comprises one of Au, Ag, Cu, Al or their alloys.

9. The recording head of claim 7 , wherein the first material protrudes further into the crosstrack gap than the second material.

10. The recording head of claim 9 , wherein the protrusion of the first material into the crosstrack gap causes the subwavelength focusing mirrors to function as optical side shields.

11. A recording head comprising:
a near-field transducer proximate a media-facing surface of the recording head;
a waveguide that overlaps and delivers light to the near-field transducer; and
a pair of subwavelength focusing mirrors at an end of the waveguide proximate the media-facing, surface, the subwavelength mirrors on opposite crosstrack sides of the near-field transducer and separated from each other by a crosstrack gap, the subwavelength focusing mirrors each comprising:
a first material at the media-facing surface that comprises one of Rh, Ir, Pt, Pd, Ru, or their alloys; and
a liner that covers the first material at an edge of the subwavelength focusing mirror that faces the near-field transducer, the liner formed of a different material than the first material.

12. The recording head of claim 11 , wherein the liner is formed of a plasmonic material.

13. The recording head of claim 12 , wherein the plasmonic material comprises one of Au, Ag, Cu, Al or their alloys.

14. The recording head of claim 11 , wherein the liner has a thickness between about 1 nm to about 25 nm.

15. A recording head comprising:
a near-field transducer proximate a media-facing surface of the recording head and having a peg extending towards the media-facing surface;
a waveguide that overlaps and delivers light to the near-field transducer; and
a pair of subwavelength focusing mirrors at an end of the waveguide proximate the media-facing surface, the subwavelength mirrors on opposite crosstrack sides of the near-field transducer and separated from each other by a crosstrack gap, the subwavelength focusing mirrors each comprising:
a first material at the media-facing surface;
a liner that covers the first material at an edge of the subwavelength focusing mirror that faces the near-field transducer, the comprising a plasmonic material, the first material being more mechanically robust than the plasmonic material; and
a protrusion that extends into the crosstrack gap towards the peg of the near-field transducer, the protrusion having a downtrack dimension that is less than that of the subwavelength focusing mirror.

16. The recording head of claim 15 , wherein a downtrack direction of the protrusion is approximately equal to a corresponding downtrack dimension of the peg of near-field transducer, the protrusion being aligned with the peg of the near-field transducer in a downtrack direction.

17. The recording head of claim 15 , wherein a crosstrack opening between the protrusions of the subwavelength focusing mirrors is less than 300 nm.

18. The recording head of claim 17 , wherein a crosstrack opening between the protrusions of the subwavelength focusing mirrors is less than 100 nm.

19. The recording head of claim 15 , wherein the protrusions of the subwavelength focusing mirrors function as optical side shields.

20. The recording head of claim 15 , wherein the first material comprises one of Rh, Ir, Pt, Pd, Ru, or their alloys and the plasmonic material comprises one of Au, Ag, Cu, Al or their alloys.

Assignees

• Seagate Technology Llc

Inventors

• Chen Weibin
• Zhou Nan
• Yang Ruoxi
• Seigler Michael Allen

Classifications

• E06B1/62

  Tightening or covering joints between the border of openings and the frame {or between contiguous frames}(E06B1/34 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E04B1/665

  Sheets or foils impervious to water and water vapor · CPC title

• C08L95/005

  Aqueous compositions, e.g. emulsions · CPC title

• E06B2001/628

  Separate flexible joint covering strips; Flashings · CPC title

• E04F19/0459

  characterised by the fixing method · CPC title