Heat-assisted magnetic recording head and method of manufacturing the same

1. A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head comprising:

a magnetic recording head including a recording pole for applying a magnetic recording field on a magnetic recording medium and a return pole magnetically connected to the recording pole to form a magnetic path;

a light source for emitting light; and

an optical transmission module including a photonic crystal waveguide disposed at a side of the magnetic recording head to guide light emitted from the light source and a nano aperture for enhancing an optical field by varying an intensity distribution of the light guided through the photonic crystal waveguide,

wherein the photonic crystal waveguide includes an optical waveguide line defect region where at least one line of periodicity is removed from photonic crystal having a periodic refractivity and the optical waveguide line defect region is straight or has at least one bend.

2. The HAMR head of claim 1 , wherein the photonic crystal waveguide further includes a monitoring optical waveguide line defect region for inducing a part of the light guided by the optical waveguide line defect region to be used as monitoring light.

3. The HAMR head of claim 2 , further comprising a monitoring optical detector for monitoring an intensity of light directed to the photonic crystal waveguide by detecting the monitoring light.

4. The HAMR head of claim 1 , further comprising a reading sensor provided at a location which is one of far from the magnetic recording head and far from the photonic crystal waveguide.

5. The HAMR head of claim 1 , further comprising at least one cladding layer formed between the magnetic recording head and the photonic crystal waveguide, or on a surface of the photonic crystal waveguide.

6. A heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head comprising:

a magnetic recording head including a recording pole for applying a magnetic recording field on a magnetic recording medium and a return pole magnetically connected to the recording pole to form a magnetic path;

a light source for emitting light; and

an optical transmission module including a photonic crystal waveguide disposed at a side of the magnetic recording head to guide light emitted from the light source and a nano aperture for enhancing an optical field by varying an intensity distribution of the light guided through the photonic crystal waveguide,

wherein the nano aperture enhances the optical field of a specific polarization of light; and

the photonic crystal waveguide has a polarization control function for guiding a specific polarization of light so that the optical field can be enhanced by the nano aperture.

7. The HAMR head of claim 6 , wherein the nano aperture is one of a C-type nano aperture and a slot type nano aperture having a slot and a plurality of grooves formed around the slot.

8. The HAMR head of claim 6 , further comprising a reading sensor provided at a location which is one of far from the magnetic recording head and far from the photonic crystal waveguide.

9. The HAMR head of claim 6 , further comprising a reading sensor provided at a location which is one of far from the magnetic recording head and far from the photonic crystal waveguide.

10. The HAMR head of claim 6 , further comprising at least one cladding layer formed between the magnetic recording head and the photonic crystal waveguide, or on a surface of the photonic crystal waveguide.

11. A method of manufacturing a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head, comprising:

forming a magnetic recording head including a recording pole for applying a magnetic recording field on a magnetic recording medium and a return pole magnetically connected to the recording pole to form a magnetic path; and

forming an optical transmission module on the magnetic recording head,

wherein the forming of the optical transmission module comprises:

depositing a waveguide layer on the magnetic recording head;

forming a photonic crystal waveguide for guiding light by patterning the waveguide layer; and

forming a nano aperture on an output region of the photonic crystal waveguide, the nano aperture enhancing an optical field by varying an intensity distribution of the light guided through the photonic crystal waveguide,

wherein the photonic crystal waveguide includes an optical waveguide line defect region where at least one line of periodicity is removed from photonic crystal having a periodic refractivity and the optical waveguide line defect region is straight or has at least one bend.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the photonic crystal waveguide is formed through one of a process comprising nano-imprinting and a process of electron beam lithography and dry-etching.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the forming of the nano-aperture comprises:

forming a metal layer on the output region of the photonic crystal waveguide;

forming a photoresist layer on the photonic crystal waveguide where the metal layer is exposed; and

forming the nano aperture on the metal layer through a focused ion beam process or a dry etching process and removing the photoresist layer.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the forming of the metal layer comprises:

coating a photoresist layer on the waveguide layer;

exposing the output region of the photonic crystal waveguide, on which the nano aperture will be formed;

developing the exposed region to remove the photoresist layer from the output region;

depositing metal; and

removing the remaining photoresist layer such that the metal layer only remains on the output region.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the photonic crystal waveguide further includes a monitoring optical waveguide line defect region for inducing a part of the light guided by the optical waveguide line defect region to be used as monitoring light.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nano aperture enhances the optical field for a specific polarization of light; and

the photonic crystal waveguide has a polarization control function for guiding a specific polarization of light so that the optical field can be enhanced by the nano aperture.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the nano aperture is one of a C-type nano aperture and a slot type nano aperture having a slot and a plurality of grooves formed around the slot.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, after the magnetic recording head is formed, forming at least one cladding layer between the magnetic recording head and the optical transmission module.