Patent ID: 8295010

Claim:
A thermally assisted magnetic head comprising: a medium-opposing surface opposing a magnetic recording medium; a magnetic recording device whose distance from a leading end of a main magnetic pole to the magnetic recording medium is set longer than a distance from the medium-opposing surface to the magnetic recording medium, the leading end of the main magnetic pole layer being an end of the main magnetic pole closest to the magnetic recording medium; a first core of an optical waveguide for receiving thermally assisting light; and a second core of the optical waveguide, positioned between a first light exit surface of the first core and the medium-opposing surface and positioned between the leading end of the main magnetic pole and the magnetic recording medium as seen from a bit length direction, having a second light exit surface on the magnetic recording medium side; wherein a distance between a position where an optical intensity distribution center within the first light exit surface is orthographically projected onto a reference plane including the second light exit surface and a position where a center of the leading end of the main magnetic pole is orthographically projected onto the reference plane is greater than a distance between an optical intensity distribution center within the second light exit surface and the position where the center of the leading end of the main magnetic pole is orthographically projected onto the reference plane, and wherein the second light exit surface of the second core is a part of the medium-opposing surface.