Methods of making a near field transducer with a flare peg

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9378757-B2
Application number	US-201313789252-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2013
Priority date	Mar 7, 2013
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

The disclosed methods enable the production of plasmonic near-field transducers that are useful in heat-assisted magnetic recording. The plasmonic near-field transducers have an enlarged region and a peg region. The peg region includes a peg region in proximity to an air-bearing surface above a recording medium and also includes a flared region between and in contact with the enlarged region and the peg region. The flared region can act as a heat sink and can lower the thermal resistance of the peg portion of the near-field transducer, thus reducing its temperature.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a plasmonic near-field transducer comprising:
providing a substrate at least partially covered with a thin layer of a plasmonic material;
overlaying a first mask having a first shape on the plasmonic material;
etching the plasmonic material through the first mask to form a first pattern in the plasmonic material;
overlaying a second mask having a second shape on the first pattern of plasmonic material;
etching the first pattern of plasmonic material through the second mask to form a flared region that narrows towards an output end of the plasmonic near-field transducer, wherein the plasmonic near-field transducer comprises a peg region that extends from the flared region to the output end; and
patterning an enlarged region of plasmonic material atop and in contact with the flared region.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the near-field transducer comprises an enlarged region at an input end, and a flared region that narrows towards an output end, the flared region in contact with the enlarged region, wherein the plasmonic near-field transducer comprises a peg region that extends from the flared region to the output end, wherein the plasmonic near-field transducer has a break point located on the enlarged region at a point closest to the output end of the flared region.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one of silicon, an inorganic dielectric, an organic dielectric, a polymer dielectric, glass, a nonconductive metal, and a ceramic.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the plasmonic material is selected from gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and alloys thereof.

5. A method according to claim 4 , wherein the plasmonic material comprises gold.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first mask comprises a phase-shift mask and the second mask comprises a binary mask.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein etching comprises ion etching.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the flared region of plasmonic material has a flared angle of from about 15 to about 30 degrees.

9. A method of making a plasmonic near-field transducer comprising:
providing a planar substrate covered with a thin layer of at least one plasmonic material;
overlaying the plasmonic material with a hard mask having an enlarged region and a peg region; and
milling the plasmonic material at an angle, other than normal, to the plane of the substrate surface while rotating the substrate around an axis normal to the plane of the substrate surface, wherein the enlarged portion of the hard mask shadows the milling forming rounded edges of the plasmonic material on the planar substrate.

10. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the rounded edges form a flare region.

11. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the peg region comprises a flared region and a peg.

12. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a silicon wafer, an inorganic dielectric, an organic dielectric, a polymer dielectric, glass, a nonconductive metal, and a ceramic.

13. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the plasmonic material is selected from gold, silver, copper, aluminum and alloys thereof.

14. A method according to claim 13 , wherein the plasmonic material comprises gold.

15. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the hard mask comprises amorphous carbon.

16. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the milling angle is from 5 to 70 degrees from the axis normal to the plane of the substrate.

17. A method according to claim 11 , wherein milling comprises ion etching.

18. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising removing the mask.

19. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first shape is an hourglass.

20. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first mask has a first length and the second mask has a second length, the second length being less than the first length.

Assignees

• Seagate Technology Llc

Inventors

• Zhao Yongjun
• Hong Dongsung
• Zou Lijuan
• Ostrowski Mark

Classifications

• G11B5/314 Primary

  where the layers are extra layers normally not provided in the transducing structure, e.g. optical layers (G11B5/3196 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G11B5/3163

  Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure, e.g. using base layers for electroplating, using functional layers for masking, using energy or particle beams for shaping the structure or modifying the properties of the basic layers · CPC title

• G11B5/6088

  Optical waveguide in or on flying head · CPC title

• G11B2005/0021

  Thermally assisted recording using an auxiliary energy source for heating the recording layer locally to assist the magnetization reversal · CPC title