US 12,354,628 B1
Hybrid plasmonic bottom layer for increased near field transducer reliability
Weihao Xu, San Jose, CA (US); Tobias Maletzky, San Jose, CA (US); Shigeki Tanemura, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Ken Fujii, San Jose, CA (US); and Weisheng Hu, Fremont, CA (US)
Assigned to Headway Technologies, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed by Headway Technologies, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 26, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/587,570.
Int. Cl. G11B 5/31 (2006.01); G11B 5/187 (2006.01); G11B 5/60 (2006.01); G11B 13/08 (2006.01); G11B 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 5/314 (2013.01) [G11B 5/187 (2013.01); G11B 5/6088 (2013.01); G11B 13/08 (2013.01); G11B 2005/0021 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A thermally-assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) write head comprising:
a main pole including a tip portion disposed adjacent to an air-bearing surface (ABS), the main pole configured to direct a magnetic field toward a magnetic recording medium to interact with the magnetic recording medium;
a heat sink disposed adjacent to the main pole; and
a near field transducer comprising:
a first layer comprising a first plasmonic material, the first layer disposed adjacent to the heat sink;
a second layer including a second plasmonic portion and a first plasmonic portion;
a waveguide configured to direct a laser light source to heat a portion of the magnetic recording medium; and
an alumina layer disposed between the waveguide and the second layer of the near field transducer, wherein the alumina layer comprises an etched recess recessed into the alumina layer.