Patent ID: 8619516

Claim:
A thermally-assisted recording (TAR) head for writing to a magnetic recording layer on a magnetic recording disk comprising: an air-bearing slider having an air-bearing surface (ABS) for facing the magnetic recording layer on the disk, the ABS having an along-the-track axis and a cross-track axis orthogonal to the along-the-track axis; a write pole on the slider and having a tip at the ABS on the along-the-track axis; an optical waveguide on the slider having a thickness in the along-the-track axis direction and a surface oriented generally orthogonal to the along-the-track axis; a near-field transducer (NFT) on the slider between the optical waveguide and the write pole, the NFT having a surface parallel to and spaced from said waveguide surface and an output tip having an end at the ABS, the output tip end being located on the along-the-track axis between the waveguide and the write pole tip and having a generally triangular shape with an apex facing and spaced from the write pole tip; and an electrically conductive layer between the NFT and the write pole and contacting the NFT output tip and the write pole, the electrically conductive layer having an edge generally parallel with the ABS, said conductive layer edge being recessed from the NFT output tip end b a distance D1 greater than or equal to 30 nm and less than or equal to 110 nm and having a cross-track width greater than the cross-track width of the NFT output tip end.