Light-Propagation-Efficiency Evaluation Method by Using a Pinhole for Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording

Author

Takei, H. ; Iwanabe, Y. ; Ando, A. ; Mukoh, M. ; Miyamoto, Hideaki

Author_Institution

Central Res. Lab., Hitachi, Ltd., Kokubunji, Japan

Volume

49

Issue

7

fYear

2013

fDate

Jul-13

Firstpage

3557

Lastpage

3559

Abstract

To evaluate the optical properties of a laser light through a waveguide, a pinhole layer was fabricated on an air-bearing surface of a slider. The pinhole layer consisted of a chromium thin film with a thickness of 160 nm. The pinhole (with diameter of 2 μm) was fabricated by dual-layer lift-off. The light-shielding effect of the pinhole layer was verified. The stray light outside of the pinhole was 0.18% of the light through the pinhole when the power of laser diode was 50 mW. The experimentally measured light-propagation efficiency of the waveguide was 83% of the design value.

Keywords

laser materials processing; light propagation; magnetic recording; optical waveguides; semiconductor lasers; thin films; chromium thin film; dual layer lift-off; heat-assisted magnetic recording; laser diode power; laser light; light propagation efficiency evaluation method; light-shielding effect; optical properties; pinhole layer; power 50 mW; size 160 nm; size 2 mum; slider air-bearing surface; stray light; waveguide; Chromium; Optical device fabrication; Optical imaging; Optical variables measurement; Resists; Stray light; Surface emitting lasers; Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR); laser; near-field optical head; pinhole; spot-size converter; waveguide;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TMAG.2013.2244579

Filename

6559221