Thermally assisted recording of magnetic media using an optical resonant cavity and nano-pin power delivery device

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to magnetic heads that are utilized with thin film hard disk data storage devices, and more particularly to the design and fabrication of a magnetic head having an optical energy resonant cavity storage media heating device including a nano-pin power delivery device.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Hard disk drives generally include one or more rotatable data storage disks having a magnetic data storage layer formed thereon. Data in the form of small magnetized areas, termed magnetic data bits, are written onto the magnetic layers of the disks by a magnetic head that includes magnetic poles through which magnetic flux is caused to flow. Magnetic flux flowing from a pole tip portion of the magnetic poles in close proximity to the magnetic layer on the disk, causes the formation of the magnetic bits within the magnetic layer.

[0005] The continual quest for higher data recording densities of the magnetic media demands smaller magnetic data bit cells, in which the volume of recording material (grains) in the cells is decreased and/or the coercivity (Hc) is increased. When the bit cell size is sufficiently reduced, the problem of the superparamagnetic limit will provide a physical limit of the magnetic recording areal density. Present methods to delay the onset of this limit in storage media include the use of higher magnetic moment materials, and using thermally assisted recording (TAR) heads. The present invention relates to such thermally assisted recording heads in which a heating device is disposed within the magnetic head. Heat from the heating device temporarily reduces the localized coercivity of the magnetic media, such that the magnetic head is able to record data bits within the media. Once the disk returns to ambient temperature, the very high coercivity of the magnetic media provides the bit stability necessary for the recorded data disk.

[0006] In using optical energy for the heating of the magnetic medium, one needs to consider the applicability of the optics in near field, e.g., 1 to 20 nm from the source which resides in the magnetic head slider, and the heating of an area in the medium of very small dimensions, e.g., in the 20 to 30 nm range. Conventional diffraction limited optics is not applicable for such a small area. One way to achieve these sub-wavelength spot sizes is to use small circular apertures in metal films to restrict the illuminated area. A problem with this approach is that such circular apertures have a reduced transmission efficiency. The transmittance of sub-wavelength circular apertures decreases as r⁴ where r is the radius of the aperture. Thus the transmittance efficiency of sub-wavelength apertures is poor and higher power lasers are required to heat the medium. Recently, descriptions of several TAR methods for near-field heating of media have been published with apertures designed to overcome the efficiency problem. In published U.S. patent applications US2003/0184903 A1 and US2004/0008591 A1 special ridged waveguides are used as high transmission apertures disposed within the magnetic head are taught for applications in perpendicular recording. In general the size of the heated spot depends on the optical wavelength and the dimensions and the composition of the materials for the waveguide/ridged waveguide.

[0007] The present invention utilizes an optical resonant cavity to amplify the light intensity and thus increase overall efficiency of transmitting light from the laser source to the medium. Such resonant cavities include spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities. Such cavities are known to those skilled in the art and are described in articles such as “Optical Microcavities” by Kerry J. Vahala, Nature, vol. 34, 14 Aug., 2003, page 839-846. The coupling of power into the optical resonant cavity may be by way of evanescent-wave coupling from an optical fiber or integrated waveguide. As a prior art example of this, R. W. Boyd et al., in Journal of Modern Optics, 2003, Vol. 50, No. 15-17, 2543-2550, “Nanofabrication of optical structures and devices for photonics and biophotonics” teaches a system consisting of a waveguide coupled to a resonant whispering gallery mode (WGM) cavity. In this technique a tapered planar waveguide is placed within a gap that is a fraction of a wavelength from a resonant microcavity.

[0008] Much of the difficulty in applying near field optical devices for TAR lies in their incompatibility with the space-limited mechanical structure of the write poles within a magnetic head, the difficulty in bringing photons to such devices, and meeting the requirements for producing a near field high intensity optical beam that is within about 10 nm from the bit area that is being written. The heated spot is preferably at or a short distance uptrack of the write pole. Furthermore, many structures suggested for TAR heads are not readily compatible with current manufacturing processes, which rely on building planar structures perpendicular to the ABS with thin film deposition and etching techniques. The present invention facilitates the fabrication of the resonant cavity within the magnetic head structure at the wafer level of magnetic head fabrication.

[0009] An embodiment of a magnetic head of the present invention includes a media heating device that is fabricated within the magnetic head structure. The media heating device is preferably fabricated between the first and second magnetic pole layers of a perpendicular magnetic head and close to the ABS surface of the head, where it serves to heat the magnetic media during or immediately prior to the passage of the magnetic media beneath the write gap of the magnetic head. The heating of the media lowers its localized coercivity, which facilitates the writing of data to the media by the write head element of the magnetic head.

[0010] The media heating device of the magnetic head of the present invention includes an optical resonant cavity that can produce a high intensity near-field optical beam of sub-wavelength dimension adjacent to the write pole that is appropriate for perpendicular recording at 1 Tbits/in² and beyond. A suitable resonant cavity may be any of the known prior art cavities, such as spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities, as are known to those skilled in the art. A preferred embodiment includes a resonant cavity that is fabricated in a plane that is parallel to the planar magnetic poles of the magnetic head and where the principal axis of the cavity is parallel to the ABS. Optical energy is coupled into the resonant cavity through a waveguide that is placed proximate the cavity, and optical energy is coupled out of the cavity through a nano-pin that is placed proximate the cavity. A preferred nano-pin embodiment includes a generally cylindrical shaped pin structure that is disposed between the resonant cavity and the ABS. The nano-pin may be fabricated at an edge of the resonant cavity that is nearest the write pole tip, thereby increasing the efficiency of the thermally assisted recording process. The nano-pin may generally have a square or rectangular cross-section which makes it relatively easy to manufacture utilizing well known magnetic head thin film fabrication techniques. Where a rectangular cross-section is utilized, the hot spot created by the nano-pin will be generally oval, thereby creating a hot spot with an aspect ratio that more closely matches the aspect ratio of data bits that are to be written into the heated media by the pole tip.

[0011] It is an advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that it includes an improved media heating element to facilitate the writing of data to a magnetic disk.

[0012] It is another advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that it includes an improved heating element that is disposed such that the media is heated by the heating element prior to its passage below the write pole of the magnetic head.

[0013] It is a further advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that it provides high efficiency coupling of light from a source into the media by means of an optical resonant cavity and a nano-pin power delivery device.

[0014] It is yet another advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that the coupling of light from a source into the near-field storage medium is by way of a strip waveguide or optical fiber and a resonant cavity such as a whispering gallery mode (WGM) disk or ring and a nano-pin power delivery device.

[0015] It is yet a further advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that the nano-pin can be fabricated at an edge of the resonant cavity that is disposed closest to the write pole tip, such that more efficient thermally assisted recording is achieved.

[0016] It is yet another advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that the nano-pin can be fabricated with a rectangular cross-section, such that the hot spot that is created by the nano-pin on the media will have a corresponding aspect ratio that more closely matches the aspect ratio of data bits that are to be written onto the heated media.

[0017] It is still another advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that it is composed of thin film structures which can be readily fabricated at the wafer level utilizing thin film processing technologies.

[0018] It is still a further advantage of the magnetic head of the present invention that it provides a heated spot that is scalable as bit density increases beyond 1 Tbits/in².

[0019] It is an advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head having an improved media heating element, whereby higher data areal storage densities of the hard disk drive can be obtained.

[0020] It is another advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head having an improved media heating element, whereby data storage disks having a higher coercivity can be written upon.

[0021] It is a further advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head that includes an improved media heating element to facilitate the writing of data to a magnetic disk.

[0022] It is yet another advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head having an improved heating element that is disposed such that the media is heated by the heating element prior to its passage beneath the write pole of the magnetic head.

[0023] It is yet a further advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head of the present invention in which the coupling of light from a source into the near-field storage medium is by way of a strip waveguide or optical fiber and a resonant cavity such as a whispering gallery mode (WGM) disk or ring and a nano-pin power delivery device.

[0024] It is still another advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head having a heating element that provides high efficiency coupling of light from a source into the media by means of an optical resonant cavity and a nano-pin power delivery device.

[0025] It is yet a further advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head of the present invention having a nano-pin that can be fabricated at an edge of the resonant cavity that is disposed closest to the write pole tip, such that more efficient thermally assisted recording is achieved.

[0026] It is yet another advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it include a magnetic head of the present invention wherein the nano-pin can be fabricated with a rectangular cross-section, such that the hot spot that is created by the nano-pin on the media will have a corresponding aspect ratio that more closely matches the aspect ratio of data bits that are to be written onto the seeded media.

[0027] It is yet another advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head of the present invention that is composed of thin film structures which can be readily fabricated at the wafer level utilizing thin film processing technologies.

[0028] It is yet a further advantage of the hard disk drive of the present invention that it includes a magnetic head having a heating element that provides a heated spot that is scalable as bit density increases beyond 1 Tbits/in².

[0029] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description which makes reference to the several figures of the drawing.

[0037] The magnetic head of the present invention is utilized to read and write data to magnetic media, such as a hard disk in a hard disk drive. A simplified top plan view of a hard disk drive 110 is presented in FIG. 1, wherein at least one magnetic media hard disk 112 is rotatably mounted upon a spindle 114. A magnetic head 116 of the present invention is formed upon a slider 117 that is mounted upon an actuator arm 118 to fly above the surface 119 of each rotating hard disk 112, as is well known to those skilled in the art. A typical hard disk drive 110 may include a plurality of disks 112 that are rotatably mounted upon the spindle 114, and a plurality of actuator arms 118, each having at least one slider 117 including a magnetic head 116 that is mounted upon the distal end of the actuator arms 118. As is well known to those skilled in the art, when the hard disk drive 110 is operated, the hard disk 112 rotates upon the spindle 114 and the slider acts as an air bearing in flying above the surface of the rotating disk. The slider 117 includes a substrate base upon which various layers and structures that form the magnetic head are fabricated. Such heads are fabricated in large quantities upon a wafer substrate and subsequently sliced into discrete sliders 117 which include magnetic heads 116.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional diagram of a typical prior art perpendicular magnetic head 138 which serves as a basis for the description of an improved perpendicular write head of the present invention which follows. As depicted in FIG. 2, a slider 117 having an air bearing surface (ABS) 142 is shown in a data writing position above the surface 119 of a hard disk 112. The disk 112 typically includes a high coercivity magnetic layer 150 that is fabricated on top of a magnetically soft underlayer 154. In FIG. 2, the disk 112 is moving towards the top (arrow 156) relative to the stationary slider 117.

[0039] The perpendicular head 138 includes a first magnetic shield layer (S1) 160 that is formed upon the upper surface 168 of the slider substrate 172. A first insulation layer (G1) 176 is formed on the S1 shield 160 and a read head sensor element 180 is formed on the G1 layer 176. A second insulation layer (G2) 184 is formed on the sensor 180 and a second magnetic shield layer (S2) 188 is formed upon the G2 insulation layer 184. An electrical insulation layer 192 is then deposited upon the S2 shield 188, and a first magnetic pole (P1) 196 is fabricated upon the insulation layer 192. An induction coil structure 200 is fabricated upon the P1 pole 196, that includes induction coil turns 204 that are typically formed upon an electrical insulation layer 208 and within filling insulation 212. A second magnetic pole layer 220, typically termed a shaping layer, is fabricated on top of the induction coil structure 200. A magnetic back gap piece 228 joins the back portions of the P1 pole 196 and the shaping layer 220, such that magnetic flux can flow between them. A write pole probe layer 240 including a write pole tip 248 is next fabricated in magnetic flux communication with the shaping layer 220. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the various layers that comprise the magnetic pole are fabricated utilizing thin film deposition and shaping techniques.

[0040] Following the fabrication of the probe layer 240, further magnetic head fabrication steps, such as the fabrication of electrical interconnects (not shown), are accomplished, as are well known to those skilled in the art, and the magnetic head is subsequently encapsulated, such as with the deposition of an alumina layer 260. Thereafter, the wafer is sliced into rows of sliders, and the ABS surface 142 of the heads is carefully polished and lapped. Rows of sliders are then parted into discrete sliders 117.

[0041] As is well understood by those skilled in the art, electrical current flowing through the induction coil 204 will cause magnetic flux to flow through the magnetic poles of the head, where the direction of magnetic flux flow depends upon the direction of the electrical current through the induction coil. For instance, current in one direction will cause magnetic flux to flow through the shaping layer 220 through the narrow pole tip 248 into the high coercivity magnetic layer 150 of the hard disk 112. This magnetic flux causes magnetized data bits to be recorded in the high coercivity layer 150 as the disk moves past the magnetic head in direction 156, where the magnetization of the data bits is perpendicular to the surface 119 of the disk 112.

[0042] As indicated hereabove, to increase the areal data storage density of hard disk drives, the disks are fabricated with high coercivity magnetic media that can form and maintain smaller magnetic data bit cells. To write data to the high coercivity media it is helpful to include a media heating device within the magnetic head, such that the localized heating of the media reduces its coercivity and the magnetic head can then more easily and reliably write data bits into the heated magnetic media layer. Once the disk returns to ambient temperature the magnetic media recovers its high coercivity, which provides the bit stability necessary for the recorded data bit. As is described hereinbelow, the present invention includes magnetic heads having improved media heating devices that comprise optical resonant cavity systems for enabling thermally assisted recording for 1 Tbits/in² and beyond. A general discussion of such optical systems is next presented, followed by a detailed discussion of their implementation in the magnetic head embodiments of the present invention.

[0043] The resonant cavity optical system for a magnetic head of the present invention consists of three separate elements which have to be designed to work together. The main component is a resonant cavity that provides high optical fields to improve coupling efficiencies. A means for bringing light from a laser source into the resonant cavity is also required; this is preferably a waveguide having a tapered portion that is located close to the cavity in a manner to maximize coupling from the waveguide to the cavity. Other light conveying means can include an optical fiber and the direct focusing of a laser source onto the resonant cavity. Finally, a means of coupling light from the cavity to the medium in a small, localized area on the order of 20-30 nm in diameter is utilized. In this regard, the present invention includes a nano-pin structure that produces a hot spot in the near field of the nano-pin. This small hot spot locally heats the recording medium, allowing the magnetic head to record a data bit. This resonant cavity structure is designed so that it can be fabricated in thin film layers at the wafer level along with the rest of the head structure. This dramatically reduces the cost of the head as compared to building these devices at the individual head level which involves fabrication steps undertaken at the air bearing surface of the head.

[0044] In the present invention the optical resonant cavity may be any of the known prior art cavities, such as spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities, as are known to those skilled in the art. The racetrack-shaped ring structure nominally includes two semicircular end segments with straight segments disposed between them. The field inside these cavities can be enhanced over the field used to feed the cavity by a large factor equal to the Q, or quality factor, of the cavity. Q values of>1 are commonly quoted and values greater than 10⁵ have been demonstrated in simulations. The large field enhancement in the cavity means larger fields can be delivered to the medium. The cavity is created as a dielectric material that is shaped to the desired cavity dimensions and disposed within the magnetic head, where the dielectric material is non-absorbing at the optical wavelengths used to excite the cavity. For visible wavelengths, dielectric materials such as tantalum oxide, silicon-oxynitride, aluminum oxide or silicon dioxide can be used. For a wavelength in the 1-2 μm range, silicon (Si) can be used as the cavity material. Cavities and waveguides can be integrated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, while other commonly used materials are silica-on-silicon and silicon oxy-nitride (SiON). Gallium arsenide and other Group III-V materials are also often used when sources (e.g. semiconductor lasers) or other active optical devices are integrated in the same structure, and they may also be incorporated within the present invention.

[0045] Light can be confined in the cavity by a number of well-known methods that all produce an interface that reflects the light. The simplest of these methods is an interface with a dielectric material of lower index of refraction as is used in step index optical fibers. Other methods include a reflective metal coating, a reflective dielectric thin film stack, a gradient index interface, an overlay of high index material, an overlay of a reflective grating, an anti-resonant reflective structure or a photonic crystal structure. For the purposes of this invention, dielectric interfaces will generally be the preferred method although metal interfaces may be used on the top and/or bottom faces to help confine the field that is coupled out of the cavity into the recording medium.

[0046] The dimensions of the cavity are determined by many parameters including the wavelength of the light in the material, the confinement method and the cavity mode being used. For example for a ring cavity resonator comprised of a material with a refractive index of n=2.2 in a matrix of material with refractive index n=1.46, with a thickness of 1 μm, a width of 0.75 μm and a ring radius of 2 μm, at a wavelength around 1.5 μm, there will resonances with the order of 40 maxima and minima in the cavity. The characteristics of the various cavities that may be used in the present invention are known to those skilled in the art, as exemplified by the Vahala reference identified above. For this invention, higher order modes are preferably employed to concentrate optical energy towards the periphery of the cavity, and whispering gallery modes (WGM), where there are a string of maxima around the periphery of the cylinder, may be used. In this case the cavity can be several microns in diameter. As is discussed in detail herebelow, the cavity is built into the magnetic head at the wafer level using thin film fabrication techniques with the cavity principal axis parallel to the air-bearing surface (ABS) and with a side edge of the cavity close to the ABS; the cavity is generally built as close to the write pole as possible on the up-track side of the pole.

[0047] Given a resonant cavity, mechanisms are required to bring light into the cavity and then again to couple light out of the cavity and into the recording medium. In practice, these elements all need to be designed in conjunction with the cavity and the recording medium to optimize the overall performance, but they are next discussed separately for simplicity. In general, a semiconductor laser will be used as the light source, and this invention uses a waveguide to bring light from the source to the resonant cavity. Although not necessary, for simplicity the waveguide will in general be similar to the cavity in terms of the materials and film thicknesses used to fabricate it. Light from the laser can be coupled into the waveguide in a number of commonly known ways. If the laser and waveguide are on the same substrate, the laser can be directly butt-coupled into the waveguide with good efficiency. If not, a spot size reducer can be put on the end of the waveguide and the laser can be focused onto it, or a grating or prism coupler can be placed on the waveguide for coupling. When properly designed, all of these methods can have good coupling efficiency.

[0048] To couple light from the waveguide to the cavity, the waveguide is generally tapered down and brought into close proximity to the cavity. An example of a waveguide coupled to a resonant cavity with both on the same substrate is presented in R. W. Boyd et al., in Journal of Modern Optics, 2003, Vol. 50, No. 15-17, 2543-2550, “Nanofabrication of optical structures and devices for photonics and biophotonics”. When properly designed, this coupling can be close to 100% efficient and the field intensity in the cavity will be larger than the field in the waveguide by a factor of Q, whose value is determined by the overall design of the cavity, the coupling waveguide and the nano-pin.

[0049] Finally it is required to couple the light out of the cavity and into the recording medium. In the present invention, output light from the cavity is coupled through a nano-pin to produce intense optical fields that are confined to spot sizes on the order of 1/30 of the wavelength or less. It is important to realize that this is one area where the design of the output coupling nano-pin is tightly bound to the design of the cavity and to the recording medium. Introducing the nano-pin will alter the cavity resonance slightly as will the presence of the recording medium located in the near field of the cavity. These effects have to be taken into consideration in the design of the cavity and nano-pin.

[0050] An embodiment that illustrates the application of resonant cavities for thermally assisted magnetic recording is next discussed, where the embodiment may serve as the magnetic head 116 within the hard disk drive 110 of the present invention.

[0051] FIGS. 3A-3F depict a first embodiment 300 of a magnetic head of the present invention that includes an optical resonant cavity media heating device 304, wherein FIG. 3A is a side cross-sectional view, FIG. 3B is a plan view taken from the ABS, FIG. 3C is a plan view taken from the downtrack side, FIG. 3D is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the magnetic pole portion of the magnetic head depicted in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3E is an enlarged plan view of the pole portion of the magnetic head depicted in FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3F is an enlarged plan view of the pole tip portion of the magnetic head depicted in FIG. 3C.

[0052] As is best seen in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, the magnetic head embodiment 300 includes a first magnetic shield layer 160, a read head sensor element 180 and a second magnetic shield layer 188, as well as the induction coil structure 200 including filling insulation 212, the shaping layer 220, probe layer 240, and probe tip 248 that are similar to the structures depicted in FIG. 2 and described above, whereby they are correspondingly numbered for ease of comprehension.

[0053] The optical resonant cavity media heating device 304 of the present invention is preferably fabricated on the uptrack side of the probe layer 240 between the shaping layer 220 and the ABS 142; it includes an optical resonant cavity 308 and a waveguide 312 for coupling optical energy from a laser source 316 to the cavity 308, and a nano-pin 320 that is disposed between the resonant cavity 308 and the ABS. As is best seen in the enlarged views of FIGS. 3D, 3E and 3F, the resonant cavity 308 is preferably though not necessarily fabricated as a disk, ring or racetrack shaped cavity. Such a cavity is preferably comprised of one or more thin film structures that are formed in planar thin film layers that are generally parallel to the planes in which the magnetic pole 196 and other thin film magnetic head structures are fabricated, such that the cavity 308 has a principal axis 344 that is parallel to the ABS and a side edge 346 of the cavity is disposed close to the ABS 142. The cavity 308 is fabricated within a layer 348 of relatively low index of refraction material 348, such as silicon dioxide SiO₂, where the central ring core 352 of the cavity 308 is comprised of a relatively high index of refraction material such as silicon or tantalum oxide. As described hereabove, the cavity 308 is sized to function as an optical resonant cavity in a higher order mode that concentrates optical energy at the periphery of the cavity, or a WGM mode for the wavelength of light that is coupled into it. A suitable resonant cavity may be any of the known prior art cavities, such as spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities, as are known to those skilled in the art. Although the ring shown in FIGS. 3A-E sits entirely between the ABS and the end of the shaping layer 220, the ring could be much larger encircling the entire write pole structure with part of the ring proximate the nano-pin and the ABS as shown in FIGS. 3A-E, while the opposite part of the ring and the waveguide 312 are outside the write pole structure, beyond the back gap piece 228.

[0054] The waveguide 312 is fabricated in close proximity to the cavity 308 and is spaced appropriately to couple light energy into the cavity. In fabricating the magnetic head 300, the waveguide 312 is fabricated as a thin film structure in one or more magnetic head planes that are parallel to or coplanar with the thin film planes in which the cavity 308 is fabricated. As with the cavity 308, the waveguide 312 may be fabricated within a relatively low index of refraction material 348 such as SiO₂, where a central core of the waveguide 312 is comprised of a relatively high index of refraction material such as silicon or tantalum oxide. The choice of the actual materials used for the cavity 308 and waveguide 312 are also influenced by factors including the wavelength of the source 316, the disk drive media and other magnetic head and disk drive parameters, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0055] Coupling the light source 316 such as a solid state diode laser to the waveguide 312 can be accomplished by one of several methods, where the source 316 generally is an integrated component of the magnetic slider 117. One coupling method may use a grating coupler consisting of grating lines 382 that are formed on a surface of the waveguide 312. The source 316 is appropriately focused and set at an angle of incidence 384 for best coupling. Alternatively, the light source 316 can be directly coupled into the end of the waveguide 312 away from the cavity. As is depicted in FIG. 3C, the waveguide 312 can be curved away from the ABS, such that the location of the light source can be several hundred microns or more from the write pole, thus avoiding the crowding of components proximate the write pole tip 248. Other methods of coupling the light source to the cavity can include the use of an optical fiber and the direct focusing of a laser source upon the cavity.

[0056] As is best seen in FIGS. 3D and 3E, the nano-pin 320 is a generally cylindrical metal pin 324, which may be generally rectangular in shape, and is fabricated within the layer of low index of refraction material 348 between the outer side edge 346 of the cavity 340 and the ABS 142. The nano-pin 320 may be comprised of a nonferrous metal material such as silver, gold, aluminum, rhodium, platinum, chromium and others, and their mixtures and alloys, or it may be comprised of a dielectric material such as tantalum oxide, silicon-oxynitride, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide or silicon. Alternatively, the nano-pin may also be a dielectric-metallic thin film stack structure as is described below. The nano-pin 320 thus acts to couple light energy from the resonant cavity 340 outward from the ABS to create a heated spot on the magnetic media that is located immediately uptrack from the location of the magnetic pole tip 248 above the media.

[0057] As depicted in FIG. 3D, the nano-pin 320 need not be fabricated along the horizontal center line of the cavity 308. Advantageously, the nano-pin 320 may be fabricated at an edge of the cavity 308 that is closest to the write pole tip 248. Where this is done, the hot spot created in the media will be disposed closer to the media writing location of the write pole tip, and the thermally assisted recording will thereby be more efficiently accomplished.

[0058] Following the fabrication of the waveguide, resonant cavity and nano-pin and structures related thereto, further magnetic head components including the write pole layer 240 and associated structures are fabricated, all as described hereabove and known to those skilled in the art.

[0059] FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 depict nano-pin embodiments that are suitable for use in the present invention. FIG. 4 depicts a nano-pin 420 having a square cross-section, having sides S, and a length L. For typical light wavelengths of 785 nm, 1310 nm, or other near infra-red wavelengths, the side S may be approximately 25 nm to 50 nm, and the length L may generally be from approximately 100 nm to approximately 500 nm. In manufacturing, the lapping of the ABS surface to create the ABS will change the ultimate length L of the nano-pin, so L cannot be precisely predetermined. The length L does affect the coupling efficiency, but there is sufficient tolerance in the length L, that lapping variations can be accommodated. The square nano-pin 420 will produce a generally round heated spot, maintaining a very intense spot in the near-field at approximately 15 nm from the end of the nano-pin 420. As is depicted in FIG. 4, the pin 420 may be formed from a series of layers 428 that create a layer stack, where any of the layers may be composed of one of the nano-pin materials described above.

[0060] The alternative nano-pin 520 depicted in FIG. 5 has a rectangular cross-section, with a thickness T approximately 25-50 nm, a width W of approximately 50-200 nm and a non-critical length L of approximately 100 nm to approximately 500 nm. As compared with nano-pin 420, the hot spot created by nano-pin 520 will be generally oval and have an aspect ratio that corresponds to the aspect ratio of the rectangular cross-section of the nano-pin 520. Such an oval hot spot is advantageous in that it more closely matches the aspect ratio of data bits to be written by the write pole tip 248. As a result, a more efficient thermally assisted recording process is obtained where the rectangular cross-section nano-pin 520 is utilized. As is depicted in FIG. 5, the pin 520 may be formed from a series of layers 528 that create a layer stack, where any of the layers may be composed of one of the nano-pin materials described above.

[0061] A significant feature of the nano-pins 420 and 520 is that their generally cylindrical, rectangular shape is relatively easy to manufacture using typical magnetic head thin film techniques, such that any additional cost and difficulty of magnetic head manufacturing is minimized. Additionally, the small volume of the nano-pins 420 and 520 generally results in little power absorption loss.

[0062] FIG. 6 depicts a string of nano-dots 620 that may be utilized in place of the nano-pin structures described above. The nano-dots 620 are approximately 25-100 nm in diameter and are formed with a spacing R between their center lines of approximately 50-200 nm, where the diameter and spacing is a function of the wavelength of transmitted light energy, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Metallic and dielectric materials suitable for the fabrication of the nano-dots are similar to those described above for the nano-pin. The nano-dots 620 take advantage of the surface plasmon light transmission phenomena, and a hot spot is created in the near-field having a size and location that is generally comparable to the hot spot that is created by the nano-pin embodiments described above.

[0063] In summary, this invention describes a mechanism for producing heated spots in small localized areas (on the order of 20-30 nm across) on a recording medium. Light from a laser source is suitably focused to a spot a few microns in diameter and incident obliquely onto a grating coupler formed on the surface of a strip waveguide. Light propagates down the waveguide until it comes in proximity to the outer wall of a resonant cavity. A suitable resonant cavity may be any of the known prior art cavities, such as spherical cavities, disk shaped cavities, ring shaped cavities, racetrack shaped cavities, micropillar cavities, photonic crystal cavities and Fabry-Perot cavities, as are known to those skilled in the art. At this point the evanescent waves from the waveguide can “tunnel” into the cavity. The cavity is designed to resonate at the wavelength of the incident light so that large intensity levels are built up in the cavity. A nano-pin placed outside the cavity, couples light energy from the cavity to the media. The resonant cavity and waveguide and nano-pin are readily fabricated at the wafer level utilizing well known thin film fabrication techniques.

[0064] While the present invention has been shown and described with regard to certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications in form and detail will no doubt be developed by those skilled in the art upon reviewing this disclosure. It is therefore intended that the following claims cover all such alterations and modifications that nevertheless include the true spirit and scope of the inventive features of the present invention.