Reflective heatsink structures for heat-assisted magnetic recording heads

1. A recording head, comprising:

a waveguide core extending to an air-bearing surface;

a near-field transducer centrally aligned with the waveguide core and positioned proximate a first side of the waveguide core in a down-track direction;

first and second mirror portions forming a mirror and surrounding the near-field transducer in a cross-track direction with a gap therebetween, the mirror extending in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a first distance that is less than a second distance that the near-field transducer extends in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface; and

first and second reflective heatsink structures respectively coupled to the first and second mirror portions, the heatsink structures spaced apart from the near-field transducer in the cross-track direction and extending in a direction normal to the air-bearing surface such that proximate the air-bearing surface the first and second reflective heatsink structures extend substantially parallel to, or converge toward, each other.

2. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second reflective heatsink structures have a rectangular shape.

3. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second reflective heatsink structures have a quarter-cylindrical shape curving toward the waveguide core.

4. The recording head of claim 3 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures form a cavity encompassing the near-field transducer, wherein the cavity includes a gap distal the air-bearing surface encompassing the waveguide core.

5. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures each have an edge distal the air-bearing surface and there is a gap between the first and second distal edges, wherein the waveguide core is positioned in the gap.

6. The recording head of claim 5 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures are each spaced apart from an edge of the waveguide core.

7. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures extend in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a third distance that is less than the second distance and greater than the first distance.

8. The recording head of claim 7 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures are separated by a gap having a width less than a width of the waveguide core.

9. The recording head of claim 1 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures are substantially mirror images of each other.

10. A recording head, comprising:

a waveguide core extending to an air-bearing surface;

a near-field transducer centrally aligned with the waveguide core and positioned proximate a first side of the waveguide core in a down-track direction;

first and second mirror portions forming a mirror and surrounding the near-field transducer in a cross-track direction with a gap therebetween, the mirror extending in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a first distance that is less than a second distance that the near-field transducer extends in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface; and

first and second reflective heatsink structures respectively coupled to the first and second mirror portions, the reflective heatsink structures spaced apart from the near-field transducer in the cross-track direction and extending in a direction normal to the air-bearing surface having a third distance between the first and second structures proximate the air-bearing surface and a fourth distance between the first and second structures distal the air-bearing surface, wherein the fourth distance is equal to or smaller than the third distance.

11. The recording head of claim 10 , wherein each of the first and second reflective heatsink structures have a rectangular shape.

12. The recording head of claim 10 , wherein each of the first and second reflective heatsink structures have a quarter-cylindrical shape and the fourth distance is smaller than the third distance.

13. The recording head of claim 12 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures have a first edge proximate the air-bearing surface and the first edge is positioned a distance about 200-300 nm away from the air-bearing surface and within the recording head.

14. The recording head of claim 12 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures form a cavity encompassing the near-field transducer, wherein the fourth distance is greater than a width of the waveguide core.

15. The recording head of claim 10 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures extend in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a fifth distance that is greater than the second distance.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the fourth distance is greater than a width of the waveguide core.

17. The recording head of claim 10 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures are substantially mirror images of each other.

18. A recording head, comprising:

a waveguide core extending to an air-bearing surface;

a near-field transducer centrally aligned with the waveguide core and positioned proximate a first side of the waveguide core in a down-track direction;

first and second mirror portions forming a mirror and surrounding the near-field transducer in a cross-track direction with a gap therebetween, the mirror extending in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a first distance that is less than a second distance that the near-field transducer extends in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface; and

first and second reflective heatsink structures respectively coupled to the first and second mirror portions, the heatsink structures spaced apart from the near-field transducer in the cross-track direction and extending in a direction normal to the air-bearing surface such that proximate the air-bearing surface the first and second reflective heatsink structures extend substantially parallel to each other and distal the air-bearing surface the first and second reflective heatsink structures curve away from each other toward respective distal edges.

19. The recording head of claim 18 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures extend in the direction normal to the air-bearing surface a third distance that is less than the second distance and greater than the first distance.

20. The recording head of claim 18 , wherein the first and second reflective heatsink structures are separated by a gap having a width less than a width of the waveguide core.