Patent ID: 6975580

Claim:
An apparatus for facilitating the recording of data, comprising: an optical source; a metallic structure having an optical aperture therein, said aperture having a first end and a second end, said first end receiving optical radiation from said source and said second end emitting optical output, said structure having a transmission resonance corresponding to a waveguide mode of said aperture, wherein said transmission resonance is at a frequency that matches a frequency of the optical radiation, thereby enhancing the optical output from said second end beyond what the optical output would be in the absence of said resonance, wherein the emitted optical output includes a near-field portion that extends from said structure out to a distance less than the average wavelength of the emitted optical output; and at least one element secured to said metallic structure, said at least one element generating magnetic fields whose strength is sufficient to write data in a data recording medium located within the near-field portion.