Patent ID: 8295132

Claim:
A thermally assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) head comprising: (a) a main pole layer having a leading edge and a trailing edge formed along an air bearing surface (ABS), said leading edge and trailing edge are part of a leading side and trailing side, respectively, and said TAMR head and main pole layer move in a down-track direction over a magnetic medium during a write process; (b) an optical waveguide for directing input light frequencies to a plasmon antenna; (c) the plasmon antenna having a first side and magnetic core that adjoins the main pole layer, and a second side and third side comprised of a plasmon layer overlaid on the main core and converging at a vertex (tip) that faces away from the main pole layer, said plasmon layer generates an edge plasmon mode proximate to the vertex when coupled with electromagnetic radiation from the waveguide and transfers energy from the edge plasmon mode onto a localized region of said magnetic medium thereby heating said localized region and reducing its magnetic coercivity and anisotropy; (d) a plasmon shield formed in a down-track direction from the plasmon antenna and main pole layer, and separated from said vertex and plasmon antenna by a dielectric gap layer, said plasmon shield forms an essentially conformal layer on a first surface of an adjoining magnetic shield and has a width in a and comprises: (1) a first section that terminates at the ABS and includes a first side facing the vertex that maintains an electric field from the edge plasmon mode proximate to the vertex thereby reducing the size of an optical spot directed onto said localized region, said first side is formed substantially coplanar with a side of the waveguide that faces the plasmon antenna; and (2) a second section connected to said first section and comprising a second side opposite the ABS wherein said second side adjoins an end of the waveguide and has a greater length in a down track direction than the end of the waveguide; and (e) the magnetic shield formed along the ABS and adjoining the first section of plasmon shield opposite the first side, and adjoining the second section of plasmon shield opposite the second side, said first surface of the magnetic shield interfaces with the first section of plasmon shield.