US 12,315,539 B2
Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write head with enhanced stability and methods for making the same
Sung Hun Wee, Santa Clara, CA (US); Shawn Tanner, San Jose, CA (US); Hamid Balamane, Portola Valley, CA (US); Pradeep Senanayake, Fremont, CA (US); and Takuya Matsumoto, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 15, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/234,248.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/380,261, filed on Oct. 20, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0135964 A1, Apr. 25, 2024
Prior Publication US 2024/0233757 A9, Jul. 11, 2024
Int. Cl. G11B 5/31 (2006.01); G11B 5/48 (2006.01); G11B 5/60 (2006.01); G11B 13/08 (2006.01); G11B 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 5/314 (2013.01) [G11B 5/3163 (2013.01); G11B 5/4866 (2013.01); G11B 5/6088 (2013.01); G11B 13/08 (2013.01); G11B 2005/0021 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write head comprising:
a main pole;
a waveguide; and
a near-field transducer comprising:
an antenna disposed between the waveguide and the main pole; and
a thermal shunt in direct contact with the antenna, wherein:
a first portion of the antenna includes a layer stack of three or more gold-based component layers that contain a waveguide-side outermost gold-based component layer, a pole-side outermost gold-based component layer, and one or more intermediate gold-based component layers;
a second portion of the antenna is disposed between the first portion of the antenna and the main pole, the second portion comprising a metallic material having a higher melting point than gold, wherein the pole-side outermost gold-based component layer and the one or more intermediate gold-based component layers are in direct contact with the second portion of the antenna and the thermal shunt; and
an intermediate gold-based component layer of the one or more intermediate gold-based component layers includes at least one platinum group metal (PGM) at a maximum total atomic percentage that is greater than a total atomic percentage of the at least one PGM in the waveguide-side outermost gold-based component layer and is greater than a total atomic percentage of the at least one PGM in the pole-side outermost gold-based component layer.