A magnetic write head having trailing magnetic shield and a trailing magnetic return pole that are recessed from the media facing surface. The magnetic write head includes a write pole, a trailing shield that is separated from the write pole by a non-magnetic trailing gap layer and a trailing magnetic return pole that is connected with the trailing magnetic shield. The trailing magnetic return pole and at least a portion of the trailing magnetic shield have surfaces that face the media facing surface. The surface of the trailing magnetic return pole and at least a portion of the surface of the trailing magnetic shield taper away from the media facing surface. This recess prevents far track interference by preventing stray magnetic fields from the trailing magnetic shield and trailing magnetic return pole from inadvertently affecting the magnetic media.

An apparatus has a main pole layer of magnetic material, a second layer of magnetic material, a first gap layer of non-magnetic material between the main pole layer and the second layer of magnetic material, and a second gap layer of non-magnetic material disposed between the main pole layer and the second layer of magnetic material. The second gap layer of non-magnetic material can be directly adjacent to the second layer of magnetic material. In accordance with one embodiment, this allows the gap to serve as a non-magnetic seed for the second layer of magnetic material. A method of manufacturing such a device is also described.

Sliders that include a slider body having an outer side edge, an inner side edge, a trailing edge and a leading edge, and a base; a trailing edge set of features positioned towards the trailing edge of the slider body, the trailing edge set of features having air bearing surfaces, the air bearing surfaces being above the base of the slider body; a leading edge set of features positioned towards the leading edge of the slider body; a gap positioned between the trailing edge set of features and the leading edge set of features, the gap having a gap surface, the gap surface substantially coplanar with the base of the slider body; and a first gap feature and a second gap feature distributed evenly within the gap from the inner side edge to the outer side edge, the first and second gap features each having upper surfaces, the upper surfaces of the first and second gap features being above the base of the slider body but below the air bearing surface of the trailing edge features.

A recording head includes a near-field transducer proximate a media-facing surface of the recording head and a waveguide that overlaps and delivers light to the near-field transducer. The recording head includes subwavelength-sized focusing mirror comprising first and second reflectors disposed on cross track sides of the near-field transducer. Each of the first and second reflectors is spaced apart from the media-facing surface by a distance, D, measured along an axis normal to the media-facing surface.

An apparatus includes an array of write transducers. Each write transducer includes a lower yoke, a lower write pole piece comprising a lower base layer in magnetic communication with the lower yoke and a lower high moment layer above the lower base layer. Each write transducer includes a write gap above the lower write pole piece and an upper write pole piece above the write gap. The upper write pole piece includes an upper high moment layer above the write gap and an upper base layer above the upper high moment layer. Each write transducer includes an upper yoke above the upper base layer. A media facing side of the lower pole piece and at least a portion of a media facing side of the upper pole piece extend along a plane and the remainder of the media facing side of the upper pole piece is recessed from the plane.

Described are magnetic recording heads that include an air-bearing surface and that are designed to be useful or potentially useful in two or more different types of fluid atmospheres; also described are related methods of testing the magnetic recording heads and installing the magnetic recording heads in a hard disk drive, as well as hard disk drives that contain a magnetic recording head as described.

A slider includes a slider body with an air-bearing surface and a top surface opposing the air-bearing surface. A plurality of slider bond pads are disposed on or parallel to the top surface and proximate to or at a trailing edge of the slider. The plurality of slider bond pads have an exposed surface facing away from the top surface of the slider body. One or more mounting supports extend from the top surface to a distance of at least 12 μm above the exposed surface of the plurality of slider bond pads.

An assembly for lapping multiple row bars, the assembly including a carrier having at least one carrier bond pad, multiple row bars adjacent to each other in a stack, wherein a first row bar of the stack is positioned closer to the carrier than any of the other multiple row bars of the stack and comprises at least one row bar bond pad, an electrical connection between at least one of the carrier bond pads and at least one of the row bar bond pads of the first row bar, and at least one electrical trace extending through at least two of the multiple row bars and electrically connected to at least the first row bar and one additional row bar of the stack. An outermost row bar of the stack includes an outer surface and at least one electronic lapping guide.

A slider comprises an air bearing surface having a leading edge at a first end of the air bearing surface; a trailing edge at a second end of the air bearing surface, wherein the first end is opposite to the second end; a first region adjacent to the trailing edge, wherein the first region comprises one or more transducer elements; and a second region adjacent to the first region and the leading edge. The air bearing surface has a protective overcoat layer as an outermost layer, wherein the protective overcoat layer extends across the entire air bearing surface. The air bearing surface comprises a lapped surface and a plurality of milled surfaces, wherein a surface potential difference between the lapped surface and a milled surface is 0+/−50 milliVolts or less as measured according to Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM).

A multidentate lubricant comprising an anchoring moiety Ra attached to a plurality of sidechain moieties —(Rb—Re) according to the general formula: Ra—(Rb—Re).sub.x; wherein Ra is a multivalent radical of valance x; and each sidechain includes a perfluoroethyl ether moiety. The lubricant can be used in conjunction with a magnetic recording medium and/or a magnetic data storage system.