Patent Publication Number: US-9424867-B2

Title: Excitation of a near-field transducer using combined transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes

Description:
RELATED PATENT DOCUMENTS 
     This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/078,071 filed on Nov. 11, 2014, to which priority is claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e), and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is related to excitation of a near-field transducer using combined transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes. In one embodiment, a method involves receiving light from a light source at a fundamental transverse electric (TE 00 ) mode or a fundamental transverse magnetic (TM 00 ) mode. A waveguide polarization multiplexes the light to a combined mode that includes the TM 00  mode and a first higher-order transverse electric mode, TE 10 . A near-field transducer is excited via the light at the combined mode. 
     These and other features and aspects of various embodiments may be understood in view of the following detailed discussion and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following diagrams, the same reference numbers may be used to identify similar/same/analogous components in multiple figures. The figures are not necessarily to scale. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a slider assembly according to an example embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view illustrating details of a light path according to an example embodiment; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are cross-sectional views of a waveguide and near-field transducer according to example embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of a near-field transducer according to an example embodiment; 
         FIGS. 6, 7, and 8  are graphs showing amplitude and phase profiles of the dominant and longitudinal electric field component for both TE 10  and TM 00  modes according to example embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  is a graph showing near-field transducer efficiency versus phase difference between TE 10  and TM 00  mode for a near-field transducer according to an example embodiment at various polarization multiplexing levels; 
         FIG. 10  is a graph showing write head absorption for various levels of polarization multiplexing in a near-field transducer according to an example embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a graph showing peg absorption normalized by coupling efficiency for various levels of polarization multiplexing in a near-field transducer according to an example embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  includes graphs showing profiles of light absorption per unit volume at the middle plane of a recording layer according to an example embodiment; 
         FIGS. 13, 14, and 14A  are block diagrams showing example embodiments with asymmetric waveguide structures; 
         FIG. 15  is a graph showing effective mode indices for TE 10  and TM 00  mode as a function of a TiO 2  core width according to an example embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  is a plan view showing a waveguide used to multiplex TE 10  and TM 00  modes according to another example embodiment; 
         FIGS. 17, 18, and 19  are graphs showing the profiles of the transverse electric field components at various locations along a waveguide polarization multiplexer according to an example embodiment; 
         FIGS. 20, 21, and 22  are diagrams showing waveguide configurations that achieve TE 10  and TM 00  mode multiplexing according to additional embodiments; and 
         FIGS. 23 and 24  are flowcharts illustrating methods according to example embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present disclosure is generally related to an apparatus (e.g., a HAMR write head) having a waveguide that delivers light from an energy source (e.g., laser diode) to a near-field transducer (NFT). The NFT may also be referred to as a plasmonic transducer, plasmonic antenna, near-field antenna, nano-disk, nan-patch, nano-rod, etc. The light generates a surface plasmon field on the NFT, and the surface plasmons are directed out of a surface of the write head onto a magnetic recording medium. This creates a hotspot on the recording medium, lowering its magnetic coercivity and enabling a local magnetic field generated by a write pole to write data to the hotspot. 
     Two different polarizations of the light may be delivered to excite the NFT. One uses transverse electric (TE) polarization and the other one uses transverse magnetic (TM) polarization. One type of NFT uses an antenna with a peg facing towards the recording medium to generate an energy-condensed hot spot in the medium. A TE polarized waveguide mode excites localized surface plasmon mainly around the side periphery of the antenna, while TM polarized mode excites localized surface plasmons on a surface of the antenna facing or opposite to the waveguide. 
     The NFT efficiency in such a case is determined by the generation of localized surface plasmon at the surface of the antenna body, which funnels the charge into the peg, and the excitation of peg, lightning-rod effect. It has been observed that TE mode only or TM mode only does not match the near-field pattern of antenna. For example, a waveguide mode may have a much lower longitudinal electric field component than the dominant transverse component, which impacts the NFT efficiency. 
     In embodiments described below, a write head includes waveguide features that are designed to improve impedance match between a waveguide and NFT of a HAMR write head. This involves, among other things, delivering light with polarization multiplexing, for instance, both TM 00  (the fundamental transverse magnetic mode) and a TE 10  mode (the first higher-order transverse electric mode). This multiplexing can be achieved, for example, by first converting the light to a TE 10  mode via a mode converter, and then polarization multiplexing the TE 10  mode light with the TM 00  mode via a core region of the waveguide with a pinched dimension proximate the NFT. In other examples, the light is polarization multiplexed via an asymmetry of the waveguide about a substrate-parallel plane. The multiplexing results in, among other things, enhanced NFT efficiency, reduced absorption in the NFT and heads, and also improves thermal gradient for writing sharper magnetic transitions. 
     In reference to  FIG. 1 , a perspective view shows a HAMR write head  100  according to an example embodiment. The write head  100  includes a laser diode  102  located on input surface  103  of a slider body  101 . In this example, the input surface  103  is a top surface, which is located opposite to a media-facing surface  108  that is positioned over a surface of a recording media (not shown) during device operation. The media-facing surface  108  faces and is held proximate to the moving media surface while reading and writing to the media. The media-facing surface  108  may be configured as an air-bearing surface (ABS) that maintains separation from the media surface via a thin layer of air. 
     The laser diode  102  delivers light to a region proximate a HAMR read/write transducer  106 , which is located near the media-facing surface  108 . The energy is used to heat the recording media as it passes by the read/write transducer  106 . Optical coupling components, such as a waveguide system  110 , are formed integrally within the slider body  101  (near a trailing edge surface  104  in this example) and function as an optical path that delivers energy from the laser diode  102  to the recording media via a near-field transducer  112 . The near-field transducer  112  is located near the read/write transducer  106  and causes heating of the media during recording operations. The near-field transducer  112  may be made from plasmonic materials such as gold, silver, copper, etc. 
     The laser diode  102  in this example may be configured as either an edge-emitting laser or surface-emitting laser. Generally, the edge-emitting laser, also called in-plane laser, emits light along the wafer surface of a semiconductor chip and a surface emitting laser emits light in a direction perpendicular to a semiconductor wafer surface. An edge-emitting laser may be mounted on the top surface  103  of the slider body  101  (e.g., in a pocket or cavity) such that the light is emitted in a direction perpendicular to the media-facing surface (along the negative z-direction in this view). 
     While the example in  FIG. 1  shows a laser diode  102  directly mounted to the slider body  101 , the waveguide system  110  discussed herein may be applicable to any type of light delivery configuration. For example, a laser may be mounted on the trailing edge surface  104  instead of the top surface  103 . In another configuration known as free-space light delivery, a laser may be mounted external to the write head  100 , and coupled to the slider by way of optic fiber and/or waveguide. An input surface of the slider body  101  may include a grating or other coupling feature to receive light from the laser via the optic fiber and/or waveguide. 
     In  FIG. 2 , a cross-sectional view illustrates portions of the slider body  101  near the near-field transducer  112  according to an example embodiment. In this view, the near-field transducer  112  is shown proximate to a surface of magnetic recording medium  202 , e.g., a magnetic disk. The waveguide system  110  delivers electromagnetic energy  204  to the near-field transducer  112 , which directs the energy  204  to create a small hot spot  208  on the recording medium  202 . A magnetic write pole  206  causes changes in magnetic flux near the media-facing surface  108  in response to an applied current. Flux from the write pole  206  changes a magnetic orientation of the hot spot  208  as it moves past the write pole  206  in the downtrack direction (y-direction). 
     The waveguide system  110  includes a core layer  210  surrounded by cladding layers  212 ,  214 . The core layer  210  and cladding layers  212 ,  214  may be made from dielectric materials such as Al 2 O 3 , SiOxNy, SiO 2 , Ta 2 O 5 , TiO 2  , ZnS, Si 3 N 4 , Nb 2 O 5 , AlN, Hf 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 , GaP, SiC, Si, etc. Generally, the dielectric materials are selected so that the refractive index of the core layer  210  is higher than refractive indices of the cladding layers  212 ,  214 . This arrangement of materials facilitates efficient propagation of light through the waveguide system  110 . 
     A first end of the core  210  (not shown) extends along the light propagation direction (negative z-direction) where it is directly or indirectly coupled to a light/energy source. For example, a laser diode may have an output facet that is coupled face-to-face with an end of the waveguide core  210 . In other configurations, optical components such as lenses, mirrors, collimators, mode converters, etc., may be coupled between the waveguide core  210  and the light/energy source. In either case, the energy  204  coupled into the first end of the waveguide core  210  propagates to a second end  210   a  that is proximate the near-field transducer. 
     In this example, the energy  204  is coupled into the waveguide  110  at a fundamental transverse electric (TE 00 ) mode or a fundamental transverse magnetic (TM 00 ) mode. The waveguide  110  includes a multiplexer  220  that converts the energy  204  to a combined polarization mode. The combined mode includes a fundamental transverse TM 00  mode and a first higher-order transverse electric, TE 10 . The near-field transducer  112  is excited at the combined mode, and in response, tunnels direct plasmons to the recording medium  202 . 
     In  FIGS. 3 and 4 , xy-plane cross-sectional views show the near-field transducer  112  and waveguide core end  210   a  of  FIG. 2 . The arrows in  FIGS. 3 and 4  represent the electric field of the respective TE 10  and TM 00  and the excitation of the NFT  112 . As noted above, the TE 10  mode generally excites plasmons along an edge of the near-field transducer  112 , and the TM 00  mode generally excites plasmons on a face of the NFT  112 , e.g., on a substrate-parallel plane (xz-plane). 
     To demonstrate performance of various embodiments, an analysis was performed using an example of the NFT  112  designed for a TE 10  waveguide mode. Details of this NFT  112  are shown in the substrate-parallel plane (xz-plane) view of  FIG. 5 . The NFT  112  has two semi-circular ends with a peg attached on one end, and a middle part with straight edges. The near-field transducer interacts with the incident TE 10  waveguide mode, generating a highly localized optical spot and forming a 50-nm or smaller hot spot  208  in the magnetic recording medium  202 . This incident TE 10  waveguide mode can be provided by a waveguide mode order converter that converts the input TE 00  mode into the first higher-order mode, TE 10 , of a two-mode output waveguide. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 2 , the example waveguide  110  in this analysis includes by a 120 nm thick (along the y-direction) TiO 2  core  210  of refractive index n=2.35 and silica cladding  212 ,  214 , n=1.46. Light wavelength λ=830 nm. The NFT  112  is 20-nm away from the core  210 . Peg dimension is 40-nm wide along the x-direction (cross-track) and 30-nm thick along the y-direction (down-track). The optimal geometry for TE 10  mode excitation is: core width=400 nm (along the x-direction), NFT footprint dimension H=680 nm, R t =R b =200 nm, peg height=20 nm along the z-direction (see  FIG. 5 ). The magnetic pole  206  is slanted and thermally coupled with the NFT  112  by a heat-sink  218 . 
     The heat-sink  218  may have the same foot print size as the NFT, smaller than, or be recessed from the NFT. In this modeling, the same foot print size is assumed. Both the NFT  112  and heat-sink  218  use gold. The pole-NFT spacing is 20 nm at the media-facing surface  108  (ABS). The pole  206  is 200-nm wide along the x-direction and wrapped with a Cr-heat sink (not shown). The total width (along the x-direction) of the pole plus Cr heat sink is 600-nm. The heat-sink/pole is truncated at the far-end of the NFT  112 . 
     The magnetic recording medium  202  includes a FePt layer (12.6 nm thick, complex refractive index n=2.55+j 2.72), a MgO layer (10 nm thick, n=1.70), and a heat-sink Cu layer (60 nm thick, n=0.26+j 5.29) on a glass substrate. The head-medium spacing is 8 nm, effective index n=1.21. The NFT efficiency, CE 50 , is defined as the light absorption in the FePt layer in a foot print of 50 nm by 50 nm. 
     The output waveguide  110  supports both TE 10  and TM 00  mode. The effective mode index (n eff ) is 1.592326 for the TE 10  mode and 1.558759 for the TM 00  mode. For the TE 10  mode, the dominant electric (E) field is along x-direction, Ex, while for the TM 00  mode it is along y direction, Ey. Both modes have a longitudinal electric field, Ez, but the field amplitude is much lower than the dominant transverse component. 
     In  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a set of graphs shows the amplitude and phase profiles of the dominant and longitudinal electric field component for both TE 10  and TM 00  modes. The waveguide core is centered at (x, y)=(0, 0). In the presence of both TE 10  and TM 00  mode propagating in the waveguide, the total electric field, E t (x,y,z), is a superposition of the TE 10  mode, with transverse profile {right arrow over (E)} TE     00   (x, y) (normalized to unit optical power in the mode), and the TM 00  mode, with transverse profile {right arrow over (E)} TM     00   (x, y) (also normalized to have unit optical power in the mode) given by equations [1] and [2] below, where p denotes the relative optical power in the TE 10  mode, n eff (TE 10 ) and n eff (TM 00 ) stand for the effective mode index of the TE 10  and TM 00  mode, respectively, k 0  is the wave number in a vacuum, and z 0  is a reference position for the phase difference Δφ between the two modes.
 
 {right arrow over (E)}   t ( x,y,z )= √{square root over (p)}{right arrow over (E)}   TE     10   ( x,y )+√{square root over (1− p )} {right arrow over (E)}   TM     00   ( x,y ) e   jΔφ   [1]
 
Δφ= k   0   └n   eff (TM 00 )− n   eff (TE 10 )┘( z−z   0 )+Δφ( z=z   0 )  [2]
 
     As evidenced in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the Ez phase profile differs between TE 10  and TM 00  mode: symmetric along y direction at y=0 for TE 10  mode but it phase difference for TM 00  mode. The interference between TE 10  and TM 00  mode will make the Ez profile move up and down along y-direction with propagation z with a periodicity given by Equation [3] below. The transverse electric component is little impacted by this interference. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
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                           n 
                           eff 
                         
                         ⁡ 
                         
                           ( 
                           
                             TE 
                             10 
                           
                           ) 
                         
                       
                       - 
                       
                         
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                           eff 
                         
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                             TM 
                             00 
                           
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     Since the NFT  112  is positioned above the waveguide core along the y-axis, see  FIG. 2 , constructive interference near the NFT location will yield significantly greater longitudinal electric component to excite the peg, and at the same time, reduce light absorption in the NFT body, heat-sink and magnetic pole, due to the reduction in the transverse electric field component. In  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the Ez phase for the TE 10  mode is φ TE10 =−0.78π and φ TM00 =0.78π for the TM 00  mode at y&gt;0 (the NFT position), the constructive interface in Ez will occur if φ TM00 +Δφ−φ TE10 =2πm. Here m is an integer. If m=1, Δφ=0.43π. In  FIG. 8 , graphs show the profile of Ez strength at Δφ=0, π/4, π/2, and π, assuming p=0.5. It is seen that peak Ez is near the top interface between waveguide core and cladding at Δφ=π/4 and π/2, peaked at Δφ=π/2. At Δφ=0 and π, the Ez profile spreads over the waveguide core and has much lower peak amplitude. 
     In  FIGS. 9-11 , graphs show the NFT efficiency, CE 50 , and total light absorption in the heads and peg as a function of Δφ at p=1 (TE 10  mode only), 0.9, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, and 0 (TM 00  mode only). Interference is evident from the dependence of NFT efficiency on Δφ with increased the amount of TM 00  mode, 1−p. The value of CE 50  is maximized at Δφ=0.7π and at p=0.8-0.6. In  FIG. 12 , graphs show profiles of light absorption per unit volume (watt/μm 3 ) at the middle plane of the recording layer for TE 10  mode only and for multiplexing TE 10  and TM 00  mode at p=0.6 and Δφ=0.75π. 
     Comparing to the TE 10 -mode-only incidence, the NFT efficiency is improved by 42% by multiplexing TE 10  and TM 00  mode. Note that this NFT dimension is optimized for the TE 10  mode incidence only. The improvement is mainly due to the increased longitudinal electric field Ez at the NFT location from the constructive interference between the TE 10  and TM 00  mode. The peak NFT efficiency is nearly at the phase difference that maximizes the longitudinal component. 
     Laser diode usually emits light with a TE or TM polarization. Light is coupled into a waveguide by input waveguide coupler or grating coupler. The excited waveguide mode will be TE 00  for TE light source or TM 00  for TM light source. If the input is TE 00  mode, it could be converted into a TE 10  mode using a waveguide mode-order converter. One way to achieve TE 10  and TM 00  polarization multiplexing involves coupling between TE 10  and TM 00  mode in a waveguide of asymmetric structure along the y-direction (asymmetric about a substrate-parallel plane). The block diagrams of  FIGS. 13 and 14  show example embodiments with asymmetric waveguide structure in y-direction. Another way to achieve TE 10 -TM 00  mode coupling is a structured core as shown in  FIG. 14A . 
     In  FIG. 13 , a waveguide core  1300  is surrounded by top cladding  1302  and bottom cladding  1304 . The material for top cladding  1300  differs from that for bottom cladding, n t ≠n b . Here n t  and n b  denotes the respective refractive indices of the top and bottom cladding  1302 ,  1304 . In  FIG. 14 , a waveguide core  1400  is surrounded by top cladding  1402  and bottom cladding  1404  of the same material, n t =n b . The shape of the core  1400  is asymmetric along the y-direction (asymmetric about the substrate-parallel plane). These asymmetries may be combined. e.g., n t ≠n b  in  FIG. 14 . 
     In  FIG. 14A , a waveguide core includes portions  1410 - 1412  surrounded by cladding layers  1402 ,  1404 . This is sometimes referred to as a structured core. The material of portion  1410  has a different index of refraction than portions  1411  and  1412 . This example need not have asymmetry along the y-direction. For example, asymmetry of materials in the cladding layers  1422 ,  1424  is not needed to achieve the mode coupling. By adjusting the core width, the desired TE 10 -TM 00  mode coupling can be achieved. 
     To demonstrate TE 10  and TM 00  mode multiplexing using an asymmetric waveguide, consider an arrangement as shown in  FIG. 13 , with Al 2 O 3  top cladding  1302 , n t =1.63, and SiO 2  bottom cladding  1304 , n b =1.46. The waveguide core  1300  is the same as above, TiO 2 , 120-nm thick along the y-direction. The graph in  FIG. 15  shows the effective mode indices for TE 10  and TM 00  mode as a function of the TiO 2  core width. As core width&lt;740 nm, the TE 10  mode has lower mode index than the TM 00  mode, while it is greater at core width≧740 nm. The TE 10  and TM 00  mode hybridization occurs at core width≈730-740 nm, where the two modes interact strongly. At this core width, the beat length for TE 10 -TM 00  mode conversion is 41.5 μm, as shown below in Equation [4]. Away from this core width, the two modes interact weakly and propagate along the waveguide almost independently. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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                       41.5 
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                   4 
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     In  FIG. 16 , a plan view shows a core  1600  of a waveguide used to multiplex TE 10  and TM 00  modes according to another example embodiment. The core  1600  includes an input portion  1602 , taper  1603 , expander  1604 , and output portion  1605 . The mode at the input portion  1602  (e.g., TE 10  or TM 00 ) is partially converted to the TM 00  or TE 10  mode in the waveguide taper  1603  from W 0  to W 1  through the core width with significant hybridization between the TE 10  and TM 00  mode. In  FIG. 16 , W 0 &gt;W 1 , although in other embodiments, the opposite may be true, e.g., W 0 &lt;W 1 . The waveguide core width may change from W 1  to W 2  in the expander  1604  for the optimal excitation of the near-field transducer. 
     If the tapering from W 1  to W 2  through the core width results in significant hybridization between the TE 10  and TM 00  mode, the degree of tapering may be chosen to prevent the full reverse conversion back. The length of the output portion  1605  may be chosen to achieve the required the phase difference Δφ for NFT efficiency. In this example, TE 10  is the input mode. The waveguide geometry for polarization multiplexing is: W 0 =840 nm, W 1 =720 nm, W 2 =900 nm, L 1 =30 μm, L 2 =10 μm. Graphs in  FIGS. 17-19  show the profiles of the transverse electric field components at the input to the waveguide taper  1603 , at the end of the waveguide taper  1603 , and at the end of the waveguide expander  1604 . At the waveguide input, the waveguide mode is TE 10  mode, the dominant electric field component is Ex. The Ey component occurs only near the four corners of the waveguide core. At the end of waveguide taper, about 29% optical power residues in the TM 00  mode; at the end of the beam expander, it increases to 45%. This increase occurs near the start of the waveguide expander, due to the strong coupling between the TE 10  and TM 00  mode near the start of the waveguide expander  1604 . 
     In  FIGS. 20-22 , diagrams show waveguide configurations that achieve TE 10  and TM 00  mode multiplexing according to additional embodiments. In  FIG. 20 , a slider assembly  2000  includes an energy source  2001 , e.g., a laser diode that is TE polarized. An input waveguide  2003  extends along a light-propagation direction (negative z-direction) and includes, in order along the light propagation direction, an input coupler  2003   a,  a curved middle section  2003   b,  and a terminating end  2003   c.  Light from the energy source  2002  is coupled into the input waveguide 2003 by the waveguide input coupler  2003   a.    
     An output waveguide  2004  extends along the light propagation direction and has an edge proximate to and separated from the curved section  2003   b  by a gap  2006 . This arrangement acts as a mode order converter that results in TE 00  to TE 10  directional coupling in the output waveguide  2004 . The output waveguide  2004  includes a partial converter  2004   a  (e.g., TE 10  to TM 00 ) and waveguide adapter  2004   b.  The partial converter  2004   a  and waveguide adapter  2004   b  may be configured as shown in  FIGS. 13, 14, 14A and/or 16 . The polarization multiplexed light is directed to a near-field transducer  2012  near a media-facing surface  2008 . 
     In  FIG. 21 , a slider assembly  2100  includes an energy source  2101 , e.g., a laser diode that is TE polarized. An asymmetric, branched waveguide  2104   c  extends towards the energy source  2101  and away from a waveguide input coupler  2104   d  along Z direction. The waveguide input coupler  2104   d  receives light from the energy source  2101 . Both waveguides ( 2104   d,    2104   c ) supports only single mode. The branch waveguide  2104   c  is usually wider than the waveguide input coupler  2104   d.  Only the asymmetric normal mode is excited in the system of the two waveguides, which eventually evolves the TE 10  mode when the two waveguides join. The combined waveguide  2104  includes a partial converter  2104   a  (e.g., TE 10  to TM 00 ) and waveguide adapter  2104   b.  The partial converter  2104   a  and waveguide adapter  2104   b  may be configured as shown in  FIGS. 13, 14, 14A , and/or  16 . The polarization multiplexed light is directed to a near-field transducer  2112  near a media-facing surface  2108 . 
     In  FIG. 22 , a slider assembly  2200  includes an energy source  2201 , e.g., a laser diode that is TM polarized. A waveguide  2204  extends along a light-propagation direction (negative z-direction) and includes a partial converter  2204   a  (e.g., TM 00  to TE 10 ) and waveguide adapter  2204   b.  The partial converter  2204   a  and waveguide adapter  2204   b  may be configured as shown in  FIGS. 13, 14, 14A , and/or  16 . The polarization multiplexed light is directed to a near-field transducer  2212  near a media-facing surface  2208 . In all of the examples of  FIGS. 20-22 , the phase difference Δφ between the TE 10  and TM 00  is controlled by the waveguide length. Due to the small difference in mode index between TE 10  and TM 00  mode, the required Δφ can be consistently and readily obtained. 
     In  FIG. 23 , a flowchart illustrates a method according to an example embodiment. The method involves receiving  2300  light from a light source at a fundamental transverse magnetic (TM 00 ) mode. The light is polarization multiplexed  2301 , via a waveguide, to a combined mode that includes the TM 00  mode and a first higher-order transverse electric mode TE 10 . A near-field transducer is excited  2302  via the light at the combined mode. The excited near-field transducer directs surface plasmons to a recording medium in response to the excitation. 
     In  FIG. 24 , a flowchart illustrates a method according to another example embodiment. The method involves receiving  2401  light from a light source at a fundamental transverse electric (TE 00 ) mode. The light is converted  2401  to a first higher-order transverse electric modeTE 10  via a mode order converter, and then polarization multiplexed  2402 , via a waveguide, to a combined mode that includes the TM 00  mode and the TE n0  mode. A near-field transducer is excited  2404  via the light at the combined mode. The excited near-field transducer directs surface plasmons to a recording medium in response to the excitation. 
     Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein. The use of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers within that range (e.g. 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5) and any range within that range. 
     The foregoing description of the example embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the inventive concepts to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Any or all features of the disclosed embodiments can be applied individually or in any combination are not meant to be limiting, but purely illustrative. It is intended that the scope be limited not with this detailed description, but rather determined by the claims appended hereto.