Patent ID: 8456966

Claim:
A waveguide for use in an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) transducer coupled with a laser for providing energy and having an air-bearing surface (ABS) configured to reside in proximity to a media during use, the EAMR transducer including a write pole configured to write to a region of the media, at least one coil for energizing the write pole, and a near field transducer (NFT) proximate to the ABS for focusing the energy onto the region of the media, the waveguide comprising: a first cladding layer having a first cladding index of refraction; a core configured to direct the energy from the laser toward the ABS, the core having a core index of refraction; a second cladding layer having a second cladding index of refraction, the core residing between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer; and a mode shift compensator, the core residing between the mode shift compensator and the NFT, the mode shift compensator having a mode shift compensator index of refraction less than the core index of refraction, the mode shift compensator index of refraction being less than the first cladding layer index of refraction and less than the second cladding layer index of refraction.