Patent ID: 8065787

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thermally assisted magnetic head comprising a slider having a medium-opposing surface opposing a magnetic recording medium; and a laser diode emitting a laser light, comprising: a head forming step of securing a planned area, according to a placing part of the laser diode to be placed on a light source placing surface of a slider substrate constituting the slider intersecting with the medium-opposing surface, which the laser diode will be mounted afterward on the light source placing surface, then forming a magnetic head part, in a head area other than the planned area on the light source placing surface, including a recording head used for recording data on the magnetic recording medium and an optical waveguide guiding the laser light emitted from the laser diode to the medium-opposing surface side, and forming or arranging a spacer for securing a mounting space for the laser diode, in the planned area; a mounting part forming step of removing the spacer to form, in the planned area, a light source mounting part comprising a bottom part according to the placing part and a wall part formed along an edge portion of the bottom part and having an incident part of the optical waveguide on which the laser light is incident, formed at a corresponding position corresponding to an emitting part of the laser diode from which the laser light is emitted; and a light source mounting step of mounting the laser diode on the light source mounting part formed by the mounting part forming step.