A plasmon generator includes: a first portion formed of a first metal material and including a front end face configured to generate near-field light; a second portion formed of a second metal material and located at a distance from the front end face; and a heat sink layer formed of a third metal material, located at a distance from the front end face and interposed between the first portion and the second portion. The second metal material is lower in Vickers hardness and higher in thermal conductivity than the first metal material. The third metal material has a thermal conductivity higher than that of each of the first and second metal materials, and has a Vickers hardness lower than that of the first metal material and higher than that of the second metal material.

A device including a near field transducer (NFT); a write pole; at least one dielectric material positioned between the NFT and the write pole; and an adhesion layer positioned between the NFT and the at least one dielectric material.

The present disclosure relates to pretreating a magnetic recording head to increase the lifetime of the magnetic media drive. A transparent smear is purposefully formed on the magnetic recording head to ensure the magnetic recording head does not overheat and lead to a short drive lifetime. The transparent smear is formed from material found in the magnetic media. The transparent smear is formed by pretreating the magnetic recording head with the transparent material from the magnetic media. The pretreating occurs without writing any data to the magnetic media. Once the transparent smear is in place, writing may occur. The magnetic recording head can be retreated at a later time should the transparent smear degrade. Furthermore, if an optically absorbing smear develop, it can be removed and a new transparent smear may be formed.

A microwave assisted magnetic head is equipped with a main magnetic pole that generates a recording magnetic field to be applied to a magnetic recording medium from an end surface forming a portion of an air bearing surface opposed to the magnetic recording medium, a trailing shield that is disposed interposing a write gap at a trailing side of the main magnetic pole, and that forms a magnetic path with the main magnetic pole, two side shields that are disposed at both sides of the main magnetic pole in the cross track direction, respectively, and a spin torque oscillator that is disposed within the write gap. The write gap is configured to substantially linearly extend along the cross track direction when viewed from an air bearing surface side, and is positioned between trailing-side end surfaces of the main magnetic pole and the two side shields, and a leading-side end surface of the trailing shield.

The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic media drive employing a magnetic recording head. The magnetic recording head comprises a first write head, a second write head, at least one read head, and a thermal fly height control element. The first write head is a wide writing write head comprising a first main pole and a first trailing shield. The second write head a narrow writing write head comprising a second main pole, a trailing gap, a second trailing shield, and one or more side shields. The first main pole has a shorter height and a greater width than the second main pole. The second main pole has a curved or U-shaped surface disposed adjacent to the trailing gap. The thermal fly height control element and the at least one read head are aligned with a center axis of the second main pole of the second write head.

A near-field transducer includes first and second stacked base portions having a common outline shape. The second base portion is proximate alight delivery structure. A peg extends from the first base portion towards a media-facing surface. The peg includes a material that is more thermally robust than a plasmonic material of the base portion. The peg has a peg thickness that is less than a thickness of the first base portion. The first base portion has a first recess proximate the peg. The first recess separates the first base portion from the media-facing surface and exposes at least a top side of the peg.

A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head has a near-field transducer (NFT) with a distal end having a leading side taper inclined at an acute angle to the ABS, such that an acute angle is formed between a leading surface of the leading side taper and the ABS. A main magnetic pole is disposed in the head facing a trailing side of the NFT. A waveguide core layer is disposed in the head facing the leading side taper of the NFT, on which a high refractive index material (HRIM) layer is positioned.

A sensor supported by a head transducer has a temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and a sensor resistance. The sensor operates at a temperature above ambient and is responsive to changes in sensor-medium spacing. Conductive contacts connected to the sensor have a contact resistance and a cross-sectional area adjacent to the sensor larger than that of the sensor, such that the contact resistance is small relative to the sensor resistance and negligibly contributes to a signal generated by the sensor. A multiplicity of head transducers each support a TCR sensor and a power source can supply bias power to each sensor of each head to maintain each sensor at a fixed temperature above an ambient temperature in the presence of heat transfer changes impacting the sensors. A TCR sensor of a head transducer can include a track-oriented TCR sensor wire for sensing one or both of asperities of the medium.

The presently disclosed technology teaches integrating disc drive electronics into a transducer head. Decreased electrical transit times and data processing times can be achieved by placing the electronics on or within the transducer head because electrical connections may be made physically shorter than in conventional systems. The electronics may include one or more of a control system circuit, a write driver, and/or a data buffer. The control system circuit generates a modified clock signal that has a fixed relation to phase and frequency of a bit-detected reference signal that corresponds to positions of patterned bits on the disc. The write driver writes outgoing data bits received from an external connection to off-head electronics directly to the writer synchronized with the modified clock signal. The data buffer stores and converts digital data bits sent from the off-head electronics to an analog signal that is synchronized with the modified clock signal.

Implementations described and claimed herein includes a storage device comprising a transducer heat including at least one pair of read/write elements and a heat shaped to thermally protrude regions of the transducer head including the read/write elements. According to one implementation, the heat element includes at least one conductive portion of locally decreased resistance proximal to and between the pair of read/write elements to direct the thermally protruded close point away from a midpoint between the read/write elements.