Patent ID: 7057998
Filing Date: 2006-06-06
Classification: B82Y,G11B

Abstract:
1. A near-field optical head, comprising: a slider supported by a suspension arm providing a load weight and obtaining a floating force due to a relative motion of the slider with respect to a recording medium so that a gap is produced between a bottom surface of the slider and a surface of the recording medium due to a balance between the load weight and the floating force; and a probe comprising a through-hole formed in a reduced thickness portion of the slider and terminating in a microscopic aperture at the bottom surface of the slider for producing a near-field light or converting a near-field light produced on a surface of the recording medium into a propagation light without a lens being disposed proximate the microscopic aperture for producing or converting the near-field light, and a light source mounted on a top surface of the reduced thickness portion of the slider above the through hole, so that a light path is defined by the light source, the through-hole, and the microscopic aperture; wherein the recording medium and the probe interact through the near-field light when the slider is caused to undergo scanning movement relative to a surface of the recording medium to thereby effect at least one of the recording of information onto the recording medium and the reproducing of information stored on the recording medium; and wherein the microscopic aperture is provided in a protruding portion of the bottom surface of the slider that protrudes toward the recording medium so that a distance between the microscopic aperture and the recording medium is smaller than a distance between a non-protruding portion of the bottom surface of the slider closest to the recording medium and the recording medium so that the probe can be brought to within several nanometers to several tens of nanometers close to the recording medium to enable high resolution optical reading and/or recording of data on the recording medium.