A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) disk has a magnetic recording layer (typically a FePt chemically-ordered alloy), a seed-thermal barrier layer (typically MgO) below the recording layer, a heat-sink layer, and an optical-coupling multilayer of alternating plasmonic and non-plasmonic materials between the heat-sink layer and the seed-thermal barrier layer. Unlike a heat sink layer, the multilayer has very low in-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivity and thus does not function as a heat sink layer. The multilayer's low thermal conductivity allows the multilayer to also function as a thermal barrier. Due to the plasmonic materials in the multilayer it provides excellent optical coupling with the near-field transducer (NFT) of the HAMR disk drive.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head that includes a near-field transducer (NFT) with a trailing bevel. Also disclosed are sliders and data storage devices comprising those HAMR heads, and methods of manufacturing HAMR heads with NFTs having trailing bevels. A HAMR head comprises a waveguide core, a main pole, and a NFT comprising a trailing beveled edge at an acute angle to an air-bearing surface (ABS) of the HAMR head. A method of fabricating a HAMR head comprises depositing material for a NFT, creating a trailing-side surface of the NFT, and creating a trailing beveled edge in the trailing-side surface of the NFT at the ABS, and forming a dielectric layer over the trailing beveled edge. The trailing beveled edge is at an acute angle to the ABS, and a remainder of the trailing-side surface of the NFT is substantially perpendicular to the ABS.

A method for fabricating a near-field transducer (NFT) for a heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write apparatus is described. The HAMR write apparatus is coupled with a laser for providing energy and has a media-facing surface (MFS) configured to reside in proximity to a media during use. The method includes providing a stack on an underlayer. The stack includes an endpoint detection layer, an optical layer and an etchable layer. The optical layer is between the etchable and endpoint detection layers. The etchable layer is patterned to form a mask. A portion of the optical layer is removed. A remaining portion of the optical layer has a bevel at a bevel angle from the MFS location. The bevel angle is nonzero and acute. The NFT is provided such that the NFT has an NFT front surface adjoining the bevel and at the bevel angle from the MFS location.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a near-field emitter and a middle disk. The near-field emitter includes a peg and an anchor disk. The peg is configured to produce a hot spot on a proximal magnetic disk. The peg is disposed proximal to a media-facing surface of the heat-assisted magnetic recording head. The anchor disk is disposed behind the peg relative to the media-facing surface. The middle disk has a melting temperature of at least 1500 degrees Celsius. The middle disk is disposed in a down-track direction relative to the near-field emitter and is coupled to the anchor disk.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a near-field transducer including a plasmonic disk and a multilayer near-field emitter. The multilayer near-field emitter is configured to produce a hot spot on a proximal magnetic disk. The multilayer near-field emitter is disposed in a down-track direction relative to and coupled to the plasmonic disk.

A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a waveguide and a near-field transducer. The near-field transducer includes a plasmonic disk disposed proximal to the waveguide. The plasmonic disk includes a first plasmonic layer, a second plasmonic layer, and a middle layer. The first plasmonic layer is coupled to the waveguide. The second plasmonic layer is disposed distal to the waveguide relative to the first plasmonic layer. The middle layer is disposed between the first plasmonic layer and the second plasmonic layer.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes: a disk; a head including a main magnetic pole, a write shield that faces the main magnetic pole in a first direction and is separated from the main magnetic pole by a gap, a first assist element that is disposed in the gap and a second assist element that is disposed in the gap and is positioned relative to the first assist element in a second direction intersecting the first direction; and a controller configured to: cause a first assist energy from the first assist element to be applied to the disk and affect a coercive force of the disk; and cause a second assist energy from the second assist element to be applied to the disk and affect a coercive force of the disk, wherein the first assist energy is different from the second assist energy.

Various apparatuses, systems, methods, and media are disclosed to provide a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) medium that has a media carbon dual-layer media carbon overcoat with both a carbon layer and a carbon-nitrogen (CN) layer. The carbon layer may be a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) carbon layer and the CN layer may be a sputtered CN layer. The dual-layer media carbon overcoat helps reduce a laser power requirement of an HAMR disk drive system and thus reduce the operating temperature of a near field transducer (NFT) of a HAMR disk drive. The dual-layer overcoat can also improve thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of the media and help retain a lubricant provided on the overcoat, therefore improving HAMR head-media interface reliability. The dual-layer media carbon overcoat can also reduce carbonaceous smear within a head-media gap.

A thermally assisted magnetic head includes a slider, the slider includes a slider substrate and a magnetic head part. The magnetic head part includes a recording head, a reading head, a near field transducer and a medium-opposing surface. The medium-opposing surface includes a recording area and a reading area. The magnetic head part includes a record/read separately protective structure which an enhanced protective film is formed on the recording area and a reading head protective film is formed on the reading area. The enhanced protective film includes a plurality of films for effectively protecting the recording head and the near field transducer. The reading head protective film includes a thickness which is thinner than the enhanced protective film.

The present embodiments relate to a thermally-assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) head. A magnetic assist current can be applied to the TAMR head to assist in reducing timing jitter as the TAMR head interacts with a magnetic recording material. The TAMR head can include a main write pole including a tip portion and configured to direct a magnetic field for interacting with a magnetic recording medium. The TAMR head can include a laser diode to heat the magnetic recording medium and a dynamic fly height (DFH) heating element for dynamically controlling a height of the main write pole. The heating element can be of a parallel bias circuit that directs a direct current (DC) bias current flow along an electrical path from the magnetic yoke element to the tip portion of the main write pole adjacent to an air bearing surface (ABS).