Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) read/write head with reversed read head and write head

Abstract

The invention provides a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) read / write head with a reversed read head and write head. The heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) disk drive read / write head has the write head located adjacent the trailing surface of the gas-bearing slider with the read head located adjacent the write head, which is the reversed location from conventional read / write heads. Thisresults in reduced write head protrusion during writing which allows for a reduced minimum fly-height for the slider. For a HAMR read / write head that uses a heater to protrude the read head closer tothe disk during reading, the reversed location allows for better heater efficiency and thus reduced heater power.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) disc drives in which data is written while the magnetic recording layer on the disc is at an elevated temperature, and more particularly to an improved HAMR read / write head. Background technique [0002] In conventional magnetic recording, thermal instability of the magnetization stored in the recording medium can lead to loss of recorded data. To avoid this, it is necessary to have a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy (K u ) medium. However, increasing K u It also increases the coercivity of the media, which can exceed the write field capability of the write head. Since the coercivity of the magnetic material of the recording layer is known to be temperature dependent, one proposed solution to the thermal stability problem is Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR), where high K u The magnetic recording material is locally heated during writing to reduce the coerciv...

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Problems solved by technology

However, increasing K u Also increases the coercivity of the media, which can exceed the write head's ability to write fields

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