Patent ID: 7068453

Claim:
A head for thermally-assisted recording in tracks of a perpendicular magnetic recording layer comprising: a head carrier having a recording-layer-facing surface and a trailing surface; a write pole on the trailing surface for directing magnetic flux generally perpendicular to the recording layer, the write pole having a pole tip substantially at the recording-layer-facing surface, the write pole tip having a width substantially corresponding to the track width; a shield of ferromagnetic material on the trailing surface and having ends substantially at the recording-layer-facing surface and spaced from the write pole tip, the shield substantially surrounding the write pole tip and substantially confining the magnetic flux from the write pole tip to the track width, the shield including side shields located on opposite sides of the write pole tip and a trailing shield; and a resistive heater layer of electrically conducting material on the trailing surface for heating the recording layer in the presence of magnetic flux from the write pole, the heater layer having an edge substantially at the recording-layer-facing surface and wider than the write pole tip width; whereby regions of the recording layer wider than the track are heated, but thermally-assisted magnetic recording occurs only in the track.