According to one embodiment, a disk device includes a magnetic disk, a load beam, a flexure, a head unit, and a first restrictor. The load beam has a first face facing the magnetic disk. The flexure is attached to the first face. The head unit includes: a magnetic head attached to the flexure, configured to read and write information from and to the magnetic disk; and a heat-assister attached to the magnetic head, configured to heat the magnetic disk. The first restrictor is included in the head unit, configured to come in contact with at least one of the load beam and the flexure along with movement of the magnetic head away from the first face by a first distance.

A PMR (perpendicular magnetic recording) write head configured for thermally assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) and microwave assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) is made adaptive to writing at different frequencies by inserting thin layers of magnetic material into the material filling the side gaps (SG) between the magnetic pole (MP) and the side shields (SS). At high frequencies, the thin magnetic layers saturate and lower the magnetic potential of the bulky side shields

An optical isolator has a first optical property with respect to transmitted components of the light traveling towards a target and a second optical property with respect to reflected components of the light traveling towards the laser. The second optical property suppresses the reflected components of the light. The optical isolator can be used in applications such as heat-assisted magnetic recording and LIDAR.

An apparatus includes a substrate. A laser is formed on a non-self supporting structure and bonded to the substrate. A waveguide having a gap portion is deposited proximate the laser. The waveguide is configured to communicate light from the laser to a near-field transducer (NFT) that directs energy resulting from plasmonic excitation to a recording medium. An optical isolator is disposed over the gap portion.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head has a gas-bearing slider that supports a near-field transducer (NFT) and a main magnetic pole. First heat-sink material is located on the cross-track sides of the main pole and second heat-sink material is located on the cross-track sides of the waveguide. The second heat-sink material may be in contact with the first heat-sink material, and a thermal shunt of high thermal conductivity may interconnect the NFT with the first and second heat-sink material. Heat from the NFT output tip flows to the second heat sink material through the NFT and the thermal shunt. Optically reflective material may be located between the waveguide and the second heat-sink material to improve the optical efficiency of the NFT.

An apparatus comprises a substrate. A laser is deposited above the substrate. The laser includes one or more non-self-supporting layers of crystalline material. A metallic adhesive is disposed between the laser and the substrate. The metallic adhesive is configured to adhere the laser to the substrate. A waveguide is deposited proximate the laser. The waveguide is configured to receive light from the laser and direct the light to a recording medium.

A plasmon generator (PG) is formed between a waveguide and main pole, and has a front portion (Au/Rh bilayer) wherein the upper Rh layer has a peg shape at an air bearing surface (ABS), and a tapered backside that is separated from a PG back portion by a dielectric spacer. The lower Au layer has a front side recessed from the ABS and curved sides self-aligned with the Rh layer sides. A key feature is that the back section of lower Au layer curved side forms a smaller angle with a plane aligned orthogonal to the ABS than a front section thereof thereby selectively enabling a deformation of the back end of the Au layer during a heat treatment to >300° C. at the wafer level. Accordingly, the front end of the lower Au layer is densified and provides an improved heat sink to improve reliability and area density capability (ADC).

According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording apparatus measures and stores recording signal quality of a disk at an initial stage, inspects the recording signal quality before data is recorded, determines whether or not the recording signal quality obtained in the inspection satisfies a standard when compared to the stored recording signal quality at the initial stage, adjusts, based on a result of the determination, light irradiation power of a light irradiation element so as to satisfy the standard, determines a read offset amount based on a result of the adjustment, and performs control so that a position of a read head is shifted based on the determined read offset amount.

A recording head includes a channel waveguide that delivers light to a media-facing surface. A near-field transducer (NFT) is at an end of the channel waveguide and proximate to the media-facing surface. A laser including an active region has a longitudinal axis corresponding to a propagation direction of the channel waveguide. The active region includes a back facet and a front facet proximate the NFT. The front facet has a surface shape configured to suppress back reflection of the light.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a slider body having a waveguide that delivers light to a near-field transducer. The waveguide is optically coupled to an input coupler a of the slider body that receives the light. A laser diode is mounted on or in the slider body. The laser diode has an integral exit facet proximate the input coupler. The exit facet has a curved profile that modifies a shape of the light emitted from the exit facet into the input coupler.