Near-field transducer with compositionally graded material for heat assisted magnetic recording

摘要

A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head 103 includes a main pole 142, a waveguide 135 and a near field transducer (NFT) 140 disposed between the main pole and the waveguide. The NFT includes an antenna 202, and the antenna is made of a compound that has a composition that varies based on the location within the antenna. In one embodiment, the antenna has a surface at a media facing surface (MFS) and the surface has an apex 220, and the composition of the compound varies from the apex in a direction away from the apex. The apex has the highest temperature during the operation of the HAMR head, and having a composition that is thermally stable at the apex helps achieve higher reliability. The antenna may have a first surface at the MFS, a second surface facing the waveguide and a third surface connecting the first and second surfaces where the antenna composition varies in a direction perpendicular to the third surface.