Structure positioned between magnetic pole and near-field transducer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9449626-B2
Application number	US-201514886524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2015
Priority date	Nov 7, 2014
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

An apparatus includes a waveguide, a magnetic pole, and a near-field transducer. The near field transducer is positioned at or near a media-facing surface. The near-field transducer is operatively coupled to the waveguide. The near-field transducer includes an enlarged region. The near-field transducer also includes a peg region extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface. The peg region is separated from the magnetic pole. The near-field transducer also includes a structure positioned between the magnetic pole and the peg region. The structure is separated from the peg region by a gap. The structure extends from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface. The structure is configured to extend generation of surface plasmons toward the magnetic pole.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a waveguide;
a magnetic pole; and
a near-field transducer positioned at or near a media-facing surface and operatively coupled to the waveguide, the near-field transducer comprising:
an enlarged region;
a peg region extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface, the peg region separated from the magnetic pole; and
a structure positioned between the magnetic pole and the peg region and separated from the peg region by a gap, the structure extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface and configured to extend generation of surface plasmons toward the magnetic pole.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the structure is a metallic structure.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises one or more of Ag and Au.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the gap is filled with a dielectric material.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the structure reduces diffusion of material of the magnetic pole into the dielectric material.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the structure causes an increase in a thermal gradient in a down-track direction of a hotspot on a recording medium.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a surface of the structure facing the peg region comprises a curvature.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the structure causes near-field excitation to be concentrated near the magnetic pole.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the peg region comprises an inverse trapezoid, having a long side and a short side, the short side being substantially parallel to the long side and wherein the short side faces the magnetic pole.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a height of the peg region is about 25 nm to about 50 nm, the height measured from a peg surface facing the magnetic pole to the peg surface facing away from the magnetic pole.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the width of the peg region at a midsection of the peg region is 60 nm.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the peg region is rectangular.

13. An apparatus, comprising
a waveguide;
a magnetic pole; and
a near-field transducer positioned at or near a media-facing surface and operatively coupled to the waveguide, the near-field transducer comprising:
an enlarged region;

an inverse trapezoidal peg region extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface, the peg region separated from the magnetic pole; and
a metallic structure positioned between the magnetic pole and the peg region and separated from, the peg region by a gap, the structure extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface and configured to extend generation of surface plasmons toward the magnetic pole.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the inverse trapezoidal peg region comprises a long side and a short side, the short side being substantially parallel to the long side and wherein the short side faces the magnetic pole.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the gap is filled with a dielectric material, and wherein the structure reduces diffusion of a material of the magnetic pole into the dielectric material.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the structure causes an increase in a thermal gradient in a down-track direction of a hotspot on a recording medium.

17. A method, comprising:
focusing light propagating through a waveguide onto a near-field transducer, the near-field transducer comprising:
an enlarged region;
a peg region extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface, the peg region separated from a magnetic pole; and
a structure positioned between the magnetic pole and the peg region and separated from the peg region by a gap, the structure extending from the enlarged region towards the media-facing surface; and
extending generation of surface plasmons towards the magnetic recording pole via the structure.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the peg region comprises a rectangular shape.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the peg region comprises an inverse trapezoid, having a long side and a short side, the short side being substantially parallel to the long side and wherein the short side faces the magnetic pole.

Assignees

• Seagate Technology Llc

Inventors

• Lee Tae-Woo
• Grundman David M

Classifications

• G11B5/6088 Primary

  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

• G11B5/4866 Primary

  the arm comprising an optical waveguide, e.g. for thermally-assisted recording · CPC title

• G11B5/3133

  including layers not usually being a part of the electromagnetic transducer structure and providing additional features, e.g. for improving heat radiation, reduction of power dissipation, adaptations for measurement or indication of gap depth or other properties of the structure (G11B5/3106 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G11B5/314

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