Patent ID: 11894018
Assignee: WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 13:
14. A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head assembly for writing to a magnetic recording layer comprising:
a gas-bearing slider having a gas-bearing surface (GBS), an along-the-track axis and a cross-track axis substantially orthogonal to the along-the-track axis;
a near-field transducer (NFT) layer on the slider on a surface substantially orthogonal to the GBS and having an output tip substantially at the GBS;
a main pole on the slider, the main pole having a NFT-facing surface substantially parallel to the NFT layer and an output end at the GBS aligned with the NFT output tip in the along-the-track direction, the NFT-facing surface having a recess containing plasmonic material, the plasmonic recess having a front edge at the GBS and a back edge away from the GBS, wherein the plasmonic recess front edge has a cross-track width equal to or less than the cross-track width of the NFT output tip;
a thermal shunt between the NFT layer and the NFT-facing surface of the main pole, wherein the thermal shunt is in contact with the back portion of the plasmonic recess near the back edge; and
an optical waveguide on the slider and optically coupled to the NFT layer.