JP2011096351A - Flexure for recording, head gimbal assembly provided with the same and method for manufacturing flexure for recording - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flexure for near-field light assisted magnetic recording having excellent mass productivity and simultaneously attaining light transmitting performance with high efficiency and stable floating with low floating height, to provide a head gimbal assembly provided with the same and to provide a method for manufacturing the flexure for recording. <P>SOLUTION: In the flexure for near-field light assisted magnetic recording, a light guide part is formed on the flexure, a tip end surface of the light guide part has a light reflecting function and the tip end surface of the light guide part is protruded forward beyond a tip end surface of a substrate on the flexure in the longitudinal direction of the light guide part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexure that supplies light to a head slider for recording information on a medium using light, a head gimbal assembly including the flexure, and a method of manufacturing a recording flexure.

  In recent years, the recording density of information within a single recording surface has increased as the capacity of hard disks and the like in computer equipment has increased. For example, in order to increase the recording capacity per unit area of the magnetic disk, it is necessary to increase the surface recording density. However, as the recording density increases, the recording area occupied by one bit on the recording medium decreases. When this bit size is reduced, the energy of 1-bit information becomes close to the thermal energy at room temperature, and the recorded information is reversed or disappears due to thermal fluctuations, etc. Will occur.

  In the in-plane recording method that has been generally used, information is recorded by forming bits so that the direction of magnetization is in the in-plane direction of the recording medium. Loss of recorded information due to magnetism is likely to occur. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, a shift is being made to a perpendicular recording method in which a magnetization signal is recorded in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium. This method is a method for recording magnetic information on the principle of bringing a single magnetic pole closer to a recording medium. According to this method, the recording magnetic field is directed substantially perpendicular to the recording film. Information recorded by a perpendicular magnetic field is easy to maintain in energy stability because it is difficult for the N pole and the S pole to form a loop in the recording film surface. Therefore, this perpendicular recording method is more resistant to thermal demagnetization than the in-plane recording method.

  However, recent recording media are required to have a higher density in response to the need to record and reproduce a larger amount and higher density information. For this reason, in order to minimize the influence of adjacent magnetic domains and thermal fluctuations, those having a strong coercive force have begun to be adopted as recording media. For this reason, it is difficult to record information on a recording medium even in the above-described perpendicular recording system.

  In order to solve such problems, a heat-assisted magnetic recording method (near-field light-assisted magnetic recording method) in which magnetic domains are locally heated by near-field light to temporarily reduce the coercive force and writing is performed during that time. Has been proposed. This near-field light assisted magnetic recording system is a system that uses an interaction between a minute region and a near-field light generating element via near-field light. The near-field light generating element generates near-field light from the opening by, for example, irradiating light to an optical opening having a size of several to several tenths of the light wavelength. Near-field light does not propagate and is distributed in a minute space of several to several tens of nanometers from the opening. By forming the near-field optical head close to the magnetic pole of the hard disk, it becomes possible to apply a magnetic field from the magnetic pole to the magnetic domain heated by the generated near-field light, and magnetic recording on a medium with high coercivity Is realized. The near-field light generating element is not limited to the above-described optical micro-aperture, and may be constituted by, for example, a protrusion formed in a nanometer size. This projection can also generate near-field light in the same manner as the optical minute aperture.

  Near-field light-assisted magnetic recording enables high-density recording / reproduction, which has been impossible until now, but new parts are required to realize this. The new parts are the light source, the light guide outside the slider, the light guide inside the slider, and the near-field light generating element. Here, the light guide part outside the slider is a part that guides light emitted from the laser to the slider, and the light guide part inside the slider is a part that guides the light introduced into the slider to the near-field light generating element inside the slider. The light guide unit outside the slider requires both stable light guide performance that stably guides the light from the light source to the slider and stable flying performance that does not prevent the slider from moving at high speed while maintaining a small distance from the disk surface. Is done. In order to satisfy these requirements, the light guide outside the slider needs to be thin and have high light efficiency.

  As the light guide outside the slider, one using an optical fiber and a prism has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this example, the optical fiber and the prism are arranged between the suspension and the slider, the light from the light source propagates through the optical fiber, and then exits from the end face of the optical fiber and then enters the prism and changes its direction. Propagate toward the slider.

  Further, a structure in which a resin waveguide is integrated with an electric circuit of a suspension to form a light guide section outside the slider has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In this example, the tip of the light guide unit integrated with the electric circuit of the suspension is cut obliquely by laser processing to form a mirror surface.

JP 2003-67901 A JP 2008-152899 A

  However, in the structure of Patent Document 1 in which the light propagation direction is changed using a prism, it is necessary to fix separately manufactured prisms, optical fibers, and sliders while precisely aligning them. Is difficult.

  In the structure of Patent Document 2, the tip of the light guide is opposed to the opening provided in the suspension, and in this state, the light guide is cut obliquely by laser processing through the opening. A surface is formed. For this reason, in order to form the said mirror surface, the opening part had to be formed and the manufacturing process was complicated.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to easily process the tip of the light guide unit and reduce the manufacturing cost of the recording flexure, the head gimbal assembly, and the recording flexure. An object is to provide a manufacturing method.

The present invention provides the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The recording flexure according to the present invention has a near-field light assisted magnetic recording slider that performs magnetic recording while heating a part of the surface of a rotating recording medium with near-field light at a predetermined distance from the recording medium surface. A recording flexure for maintaining and floating, wherein a light guide is formed on a substrate, the light guide tip has a function of reflecting light, and the light guide tip is in the longitudinal direction of the light guide. And the front end surface of the substrate protrudes forward.

  In the recording flexure according to the present invention, the mirror function for changing the propagation direction of the light propagating through the light guide unit toward the slider is performed by the light guide unit tip surface that is a part of the light guide unit, It can be mass-produced stably at low cost, and the flexure can be made thinner. In addition, since the tip of the light guide part forming the mirror surface protrudes from the electrical wiring or the substrate in the tip direction, a plurality of workpieces can be cut at the same time, and this is the same when a plurality of light guide parts are provided. A large number of shaped mirror surfaces can be formed simultaneously.

  The recording flexure according to the present invention is characterized in that the leading end surface of the light guide section has an angle within a range of 45 to 55 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the light guide section. In the recording flexure according to the present invention, since the light propagating through the light guide portion changes the propagation direction by 90 degrees or more on the mirror surface, it is irradiated obliquely on the upper end surface rather than the upper surface of the slider. In the case of a slider having a design in which the light entrance in the slider is arranged on the front end surface of the slider, light can be introduced into the slider with high efficiency.

  In the recording flexure according to the present invention, the light guide portion is made of resin, and has a core portion having a predetermined refractive index and a cladding portion having a lower refractive index than the core portion, and the cladding portion surrounds the core portion. It is characterized by being a waveguide having a structure. In the recording flexure according to the present invention, since the light guide portion has high flexibility, high efficiency light guide is possible while maintaining stable flying without interfering with the operation of the slider whose posture changes at high speed. .

  The recording flexure according to the present invention is characterized in that the light guide portion is an optical fiber whose side surface is polished. In the recording flexure according to the present invention, an inexpensive and high light-efficiency light guiding unit can be realized, and a polarization preserving function can be easily realized as necessary.

  The recording flexure according to the present invention is characterized in that the light guide section includes a light source. The recording flexure according to the present invention can achieve both high flying performance and high light efficiency.

  In the recording flexure according to the present invention, the light guide unit includes a light source, and light emitted from the light source propagates through the light guide unit. The recording flexure according to the present invention enables high flying performance and high light efficiency with a compact structure suitable for mass production.

  In the recording flexure according to the present invention, an electrical wiring connected to the near-field light assisted magnetic recording slider is formed on the substrate, and the front end surface of the light guide section is the electrical wiring in the longitudinal direction of the light guide section. It protrudes ahead of the tip of. In the recording flexure according to the present invention, since the distal end surface of the light guide portion protrudes further toward the distal end side than the distal end of the electrical wiring, the electrical wiring does not get in the way when the light guide portion is processed. The tip can be easily processed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The head gimbal assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that a near-field light assisted magnetic recording slider is fixed to any of the recording flexures described above. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, since the flexure is thin and light can be introduced into the slider with high light efficiency and strong near-field light can be generated, recording with less noise is possible, and the light source of the light source Power consumption can be reduced by suppressing the output.

  The head gimbal assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that the fixing is adhesion between the light guide surface and the slider surface. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, since the slider can be installed substantially parallel to the surface of the recording medium, it is possible to stably fly even with a low flying height of several nanometers.

  Further, the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention has an in-slider light guide having a light guide function inside or on the surface of the slider, and the in-slider light guide is located near the medium facing surface facing the recording medium surface. It has a light exit opening for emitting light, a light entrance opening on the surface opposite to the medium facing surface, and the light entrance opening is aligned with and fixed to the front end face of the light guide section. The light emitted from the surface is incident on the light entrance. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, light can be stably introduced into the light guide portion in the slider, and high-density recording can be stably realized.

  The head gimbal assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that the in-slider light guide is a spot size converter type waveguide having a light collecting function. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, the light introduced into the slider through the flexure is condensed inside the slider to reduce the spot, and only a minute region on the surface of the recording medium can be heated. As a result, the overlapping area of both the magnetic spot and the light spot from the slider is miniaturized to form extremely minute recording bits, thereby realizing high-density recording.

  In addition, the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention has a near-field light generating element that converts the propagated light into near-field light at the light exit port of the light guide in the slider. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, near-field light having a minute spot exceeding the diffraction limit of light can be generated from the slider, and ultrahigh-density recording can be realized by cooperation with a magnetic field.

  The head gimbal assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that the near-field light generating element is disposed adjacent to the magnetic pole for magnetic recording of the slider. In the head gimbal assembly according to the present invention, the magnetic field generated by the slider and the near-field light can be efficiently overlapped, and high-density recording can be stably realized with low power consumption.

  The recording flexure manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a step of applying a cladding resin material on a substrate to form an undercladding film, and a refractive index higher than that of the undercladding resin material on the undercladding film. A step of forming a core film by applying a high core resin material, a step of processing the core film into a plurality of parallel core portions of a predetermined shape by patterning by photolithography, and a cladding resin material on the core portion A step of forming an over clad film by applying a coating, a step of producing a structure in which an under clad film, a core portion, and an over clad portion protrude from an end of the substrate by removing a part of the substrate by etching, and a plurality of steps And a step of cutting the tip of the protruding structure at a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate.

  According to the recording flexure manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a recording flexure with stable quality at low cost by simultaneously processing a plurality of workpieces.

  The method for manufacturing a recording flexure according to the present invention includes a step of polishing a side surface of an optical fiber, a step of fixing the optical fiber to a substrate so that the tip of the optical fiber protrudes from the end of the substrate, and a tip of the optical fiber. The method includes a step of cutting at a predetermined angle.

  According to the method for manufacturing a recording flexure according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a recording flexure with higher reliability by using an inexpensive and stable optical fiber.

  In the recording flexure according to the present invention, since the front end surface of the light guide part, which is a part of the light guide part, has a mirror function, it can be stably mass-produced at a low cost, and the flexure can be made thin. In addition, since the front end of the light guide part that forms the mirror surface protrudes from the electrical wiring or the substrate in the front end direction, a plurality of workpieces can be cut simultaneously, and a large number of mirror surfaces of the same shape can be formed simultaneously. .

1 is a perspective view of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the tip portions of the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 and the suspension 3 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a light exit of the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 according to the first embodiment. It is the perspective view which expanded the front-end | tip part of the head gimbal assembly which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure explaining the first half of the manufacturing process in particular regarding the light guide part 26 and the flexure tip among the manufacturing methods of the flexure which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure explaining the latter half of the manufacturing process in particular regarding the light guide part 26 and the flexure front-end | tip among the manufacturing methods of the flexure which concerns on 1st embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a suspension 51, a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and a disk D according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a suspension 61, a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 62, and a disk D according to a third embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the front-end | tip part 71 of the suspension 3 which concerns on 4th embodiment from the slider side. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a suspension 3, a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and a disk D according to a fourth embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the front-end | tip part 81 of the suspension 3 which concerns on 5th embodiment from the slider (not shown) side. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a suspension 3, a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and a disk D according to a fifth embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head and an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an apparatus for writing on a disk (magnetic recording medium) D having a perpendicular recording layer D1 by a perpendicular recording method. Further, in the present embodiment, an air floating type in which the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 is floated using the flow of air rotating the disk D will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 having a spot size converter (near-field light generating element) 22 described later, and a disk D surface (magnetic recording). The near-field light is movable in two directions (X and Y axes) parallel to the surface of the disk D and orthogonal to each other (X axis, Y axis). A suspension 3 that supports the assist magnetic recording head 2 on the front end side, a laser light source (light source) 5 that makes the light beam L incident on the optical fiber 4 from the proximal end side of the optical fiber (light beam introducing means) 4, and the suspension 3 And a spindle motor that rotates the disk D in a fixed direction. The actuator 6 scans the suspension 3 in the X and Y directions parallel to the disk D. (Rotation drive unit) 7, a control unit 8 for controlling the operation of the laser light source 5 and supplying a current modulated in accordance with information to a coil which will be described later, and a housing 9 for housing these components inside And.

  The housing 9 is made of a metal material such as aluminum and has a quadrangular shape when viewed from the top, and a recess 9a for accommodating each component is formed inside. Further, a lid (not shown) is detachably fixed to the housing 9 so as to close the opening of the recess 9a. A spindle motor 7 is attached to the approximate center of the recess 9a, and the disc D is detachably fixed by fitting a center hole into the spindle motor 7. The actuator 6 is attached to the corner of the recess 9a. A carriage 11 is attached to the actuator 6 via a bearing 10, and a suspension 3 is attached to the tip of the carriage 11.

  The carriage 11 and the suspension 3 are retracted from the disk D by driving the actuator 6 when the disk D stops rotating. The near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 and the suspension 3 constitute a head gimbal assembly 12. The laser light source 5 is mounted in the recess 9 a so as to be adjacent to the actuator 6. A control unit 8 is attached adjacent to the laser light source 5. The laser light source 5 may be mounted on the suspension 3.

  FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the near-field light-assisted magnetic recording head 2 and the tip of the suspension 3 and the disk D according to this embodiment. The near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 heats the rotating disk D with near-field light and applies a recording magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the disk D to cause magnetization reversal in the recording layer D1 to store information. It is to be recorded. As shown in FIG. 2, the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 is disposed so as to face the disk D in a state where it floats a predetermined distance from the surface of the disk D, and has a slider 20 having a facing surface 20a facing the disk D. A recording element layer 21 fixed to the front end surface of the slider 20 and a spot size converter 22 fixed adjacent to the recording element layer 21 are provided. A magnetic recording element 31 is provided in a portion of the recording element layer 21 facing the disk D. Further, the near-field optical head 2 of the present embodiment includes a reproducing element (not shown) fixed adjacent to the spot size converter 22.

  The suspension 3 includes a base plate (not shown), a hinge (not shown), a load beam 23, and a flexure 24, and has a function of floating the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 in the state of being close to the disk D. The load beam 23 applies a load that pushes the near-field light-assisted magnetic recording head 2 toward the disk D direction. The tip of the flexure 24 (left side in the figure) is provided with a light guide 26 on the disk D side (downward in the figure) surface of the substrate 25. The front end of the light guide unit 26 is a cut surface 27 (light guide unit front end surface) cut obliquely. The cut surface 27 protrudes further toward the front end side than the front end 28 of the substrate 25.

  The spot size converter 22 is a tapered waveguide with a triangular cross section, and the light incident surface 29 is a triangle that is substantially similar to the output surface 30, but is larger in size than the output surface 30. The emission surface 30 has a near-field light generating element (not shown), and a magnetic recording element 31 is provided adjacent thereto.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the light exit of the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 according to the present embodiment. The spot size converter 22 is a waveguide having a tapered triangular prism core, and reduces the spot size while propagating light in the direction indicated by the arrow. A near-field light generating element 32 is formed immediately below the light exit surface 30 of the spot size converter 22. The near-field light generating element 32 is a thin film made of Au, for example, having a thickness of about 10 nanometers and a width of 20 nanometers. This excites surface plasmons by optically coupling with the light propagating through the spot size converter 22, and the surface plasmons propagate energy to the light emitting surface 30. Thereby, even if the light emitting surface 30 is covered with a light shielding film to reduce the background light, the near-field light can be generated with sufficient intensity. A magnetic recording element 31 is provided in the vicinity of the near-field light generating element 32, and cooperation in the near-field light and magnetic field nano-regions becomes possible.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the tip of the head gimbal assembly according to the present embodiment. The near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 20 is fixed on a light guide portion 26 on a substrate 25 at the tip of the flexure. A substantially U-shaped through hole 35 is formed at the tip of the flexure, and the tip is easily bent with respect to the flexure base (left side in the figure). The electrical wiring 36 is arranged from the flexure base, returns near the tip 28, and is electrically connected to the slider 20. The spot size converter 22 has a tapered triangular prism shape as described above, and the light emitting surface 30 has a near-field light generating element (not shown). The surface of the slider 20 (upper part in the figure) has an uneven structure not shown, and the slider 20 stably floats on the disk surface by receiving an air levitation force facing the disk. The recording element layer 21 has a magnetic recording element 31 near the center, and the magnetic recording element 31 is adjacent to the light emitting surface 30 of the spot size converter 22.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating a manufacturing process related to the light guide unit 26 and the flexure tip, in the flexure manufacturing method according to the present embodiment. First, the light guide pattern 42 is formed on the substrate 41 in FIG. The substrate 41 is typically made of a metal such as stainless steel. The light guide pattern 42 is an optical waveguide having an internal structure (not shown) in which a core layer having a high refractive index is sandwiched by a cladding layer having a lower refractive index, and these layers are resin materials whose refractive indexes are adjusted. Is applied to the substrate 41 and then patterned by photolithography. Although the figure shows a state where three light guide pattern 42 are formed on the substrate 41, several tens to several hundreds of light guide patterns 42 can be easily manufactured by one photolithography. Next, the electrical wiring 36 is produced in FIG. The electrical wiring 36 is made of Au, Cu or the like and can be produced by photolithography. At this time, the distal end portion B of the light guide pattern 42 protrudes further toward the distal end side than the distal end portion A of the electrical wiring 36. Such a structure can be easily produced by the shape of a photolithography mask pattern.

  Next, in FIG. 6A, the substrate 41 is etched to remove the tip side of the substrate 41 including the portion immediately below the tip of the light guide pattern 42, and at the same time, a U-shaped flexure tip through hole 35 is formed. Through this step, the leading end 43 of the light guide pattern 42 protrudes from the leading end 44 of the substrate 41. Finally, in FIG. 6B, the light guide part 26 having the front end cut surface 27 is produced by cutting the front end 43 of the light guide part pattern 42 with a blade. Since the cutting is performed on a plane having an angle of 45 ° with respect to the plane of the substrate 41, the front end cut surface 27 has an angle of 45 ° with respect to the optical axis of the light guide pattern 42. Since the tip 43 of the light guide pattern 42 protrudes from the tip 44 of the substrate 41, the blade does not contact the electrical wiring 36 when cutting with the blade. Even when several tens to several hundreds of light guide patterns 42 are produced on the substrate 41, the tip cut surface 27 can be produced simultaneously by moving the blade once.

  The near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 is fixed to the flexure 24 with the light guide section 26 manufactured by the method described with reference to FIGS. The near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2 has a spot size converter 22, which is bonded to the light incident surface 29 after aligning the front end cut surface 27 of the light guide unit 26. The spot size converter 22 has a function of propagating the light spot introduced therein while reducing it, and even if the light incident surface 29 has a relatively large size of 10 to several tens of microns, the light exit surface 30 In FIG. 2, since the spot can be reduced to a spot of 1 to several microns, it is relatively easy to align the tip cutting surface 27 of the light guide 26 and the light incident surface 29 of the spot size converter 22. Through these steps, the flexure 24 has both a function of guiding light from the light source to the near-field light-assisted magnetic recording head 2 and a function of causing the near-field light-assisted magnetic recording head 2 to float on the disk D with a small flying height. Can be produced.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, since the light emitted from the light exit surface of the optical fiber propagates freely through the distance until it enters the prism, the light spot is enlarged, so that other than the near-field light generating element There is a concern that by directly irradiating this part and the surface of the recording medium, the coercive force of the part other than the area where information is recorded decreases and becomes unstable. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the light guided into the light guide portion 26 is reflected by the tip cutting surface 27, so that the light does not propagate freely before the light is reflected as in the prior art. The light spot diameter can be prevented from being enlarged, and only a desired portion of the recording medium can be irradiated more reliably.

  In the structure in which the resin waveguide in the technique of Patent Document 2 is integrated with the electrical circuit of the suspension, a through hole is provided in the suspension, and the front end of the waveguide is formed by laser processing through the through hole from the opposite side of the waveguide forming surface. Therefore, it becomes a process of processing one by one, which is not suitable for mass production. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the tips of the plurality of light guides 26 can be easily processed because the tips of the plurality of light guides 26 protrude toward the tip side of the tip 44 of the substrate 41. Manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, since the light reflected by the laser-processed surface does not go to the slider and is directly irradiated to the recording medium, the spot size is as large as several tens to several hundreds of microns. As a result, the area other than the recording area is also heated and becomes unstable at the same time, that is, it does not become a heat-assisted magnetic recording using near-field light as a recording method, but is close to a so-called magneto-optical recording method. There is a problem that it is difficult to increase the recording density. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the light reflected by the tip cut surface 27 is incident on the spot size converter 22 to generate near-field light, so that heat-assisted magnetism using near-field light as a recording method. Recording can be realized, and information can be recorded with high density.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the suspension 51, the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and the disk D according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the tip 53 of the flexure substrate 52 is flush with the tip cutting surface 27 of the light guide unit 26. The mechanical performance as a flexure is equivalent because it is a slight change in the shape of the tip. Further, the light propagation performance is not affected by the shape of the tip 53 of the flexure substrate 52 because the light does not pass through the flexure substrate 52 but passes through the light guide 26.

  On the other hand, in the manufacturing method, since the front end cut surface 27 of the light guide section 26 and the front end 53 of the flexure substrate 52 form the same plane, they can be simultaneously manufactured by performing processing with a blade or a laser once. In the first embodiment, it has been shown that the structure is suitable for mass production. In addition to this, the present embodiment has a feature that mass production at a lower cost is possible.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the suspension 61, the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 62, and the disk D according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. A flexure 65 that forms a part of the suspension 61 has a light guide portion 64 formed on a flexure substrate 63. The light guide unit 64 is a waveguide made of resin, but may be an optical fiber whose side surface is polished. Moreover, the light guide part 64 can also use what has a polarization preservation | save function as needed. The leading end cutting surface 67 of the light guide section 64 protrudes to the leading end side (left side in the figure) rather than the leading end 66 of the flexure substrate 63. This feature is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same effect can be obtained. The difference from the first embodiment is that the distal end cut surface 67 of the light guide portion 64 has an angle within a range of 45 ° to about 55 ° with respect to the optical axis. Further, the in-head light guide 68 in the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 62 is provided on the upper side surface, not on the upper side (opposite side of the disk D, upper side in the drawing). The light incident part converts incident light into internal propagation light by a structure such as a grating. With such a configuration, the light is reflected by the front end cut surface 67 and is incident on the in-head light guide 68 as indicated by arrows in the drawing.

  The angle formed by the tip cutting surface 67 and the optical axis can be freely set by changing the shape and posture of the blade used for cutting. According to the design of the light incident part of the in-head light guide part 68, the tip cut surface 67 having an optimum angle can be produced. In the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the angle of the distal end cutting surface 67 of the light guide section 64 can be optimized in accordance with the design of the in-head light guide section 68. As a result, a high-performance head gimbal assembly in terms of both flying performance and optical performance is realized.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a view of the distal end portion 71 of the suspension 3 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the slider (not shown) side. In the present embodiment, only the controller 8 is disposed at the position of the laser light source 5 shown in FIG. A substantially U-shaped flexure tip through hole 35 is provided at the tip of the suspension 3 so that the tip can be easily bent with respect to the base of the suspension 3. The light guide portion 72 is fixed to the portion. The light guide 72 has a rectangular or trapezoidal laser mounting groove 73 in which a laser 74 is fixed. The light guide part 72 is thin plate-like, and one side surface thereof is cut at 45 ° with respect to the surface, and the surface thereof becomes a light reflecting surface 75 (light guide part tip surface). The light emitted from the laser 74 propagates through the light guide 72 and is reflected by the light reflecting surface 75 and then enters the slider. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the suspension 3, the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and the disk D. A configuration in which a laser 74 is fixed to a laser mounting groove 73 formed in the light guide portion 72 is shown.

  In the head gimbal assembly with such a structure, since the laser as the light source is directly mounted on the slider, the distance from the laser to the near-field light generating part is short, and there are few assembly processes that require high-precision alignment. Therefore, since light can be used with high energy efficiency, power consumption can be reduced and a high S / N signal can be realized. In addition, since a light guide structure from the light source to the slider is not required, it is possible to achieve a high nano-levitation characteristic that the slider floats while maintaining a distance of several nanometers from the recording medium surface.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a view of the distal end portion 81 of the suspension 3 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the slider (not shown) side. In the present embodiment, only the controller 8 is disposed at the position of the laser light source 5 shown in FIG. A substantially U-shaped flexure tip through hole 35 is provided at the tip of the suspension 3 so that the tip can be easily bent with respect to the base of the suspension 3. A laser fixing guide 82 is fixed to the portion. The laser fixing guide 82 is substantially U-shaped, and the center is a laser mounting groove 83 to fix the laser 84. The tip of the laser 84 is cut obliquely to form a light reflecting surface 85. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the suspension 3, the near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 2, and the disk D. The light emitted from the laser 84 fixed to the laser mounting groove 83 is emitted downward in the figure due to the light reflecting surface 85 and enters the spot size converter 22. By adopting such a structure, in addition to the effects described above, the propagation distance from the laser emission surface to the spot size converter 22 can be shortened, and light can be incident on the spot size converter 22 with high efficiency. Can do. As a result, high S / N signal acquisition is possible, and power consumption can be reduced.

(Other embodiments)
The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the configurations of the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and can be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is not limited at all. For example, in the case where a plurality of light guides or optical fibers are provided, it is not limited to cutting each of the tip portions obliquely with respect to the substrate at the same time. May be cut obliquely. According to this feature, the cutting position can be varied depending on the light guide part or the optical fiber, and the light guide part or the optical fiber corresponding to the size of the slider can be easily manufactured.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is used as an information recording / reproducing apparatus built in a computer or household electric product, particularly as one of hard disk components that require large capacity recording.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information recording / reproducing apparatus 2 Near field light assisted magnetic recording head 3 Suspension 4 Optical fiber 5 Laser light source 6 Actuator 7 Spindle motor 8 Control part 9 Housing 9a Recess 10 of housing 9 Bearing 11 Carriage 12 Head gimbal assembly 20 Slider 20a Slider 20a Opposing surface 21 Recording element layer 22 Spot size converter 23 Load beam 24 Flexure 25 Substrate 26 Light guide portion 27 Tip cut surface 28 of light guide portion 26 Tip 29 of substrate 25 Light incident surface 30 of spot size converter 22 Spot size conversion Light emitting surface 31 of the optical device 22 Magnetic recording element 32 Near-field light generating element 35 Flexure tip through hole 36 Electrical wiring 41 Substrate 42 Light guide pattern 43 Tip 44 of the light guide pattern 42 Tip 51 of the substrate 41 Suspension 52 Flexure substrate 5 Front end 61 of substrate 52 Suspension 62 Near-field light assisted magnetic recording head 63 Flexure substrate 64 Light guide portion 65 Flexure 66 Flexure substrate 63 front end 67 Lead end cut surface 68 of light guide portion 64 In-head light guide portion 71 In the fourth embodiment Front end portion 72 of the suspension 3 Light guide portion 73 Laser mounting groove 74 Laser 75 Light reflecting surface 81 Front end portion 82 of the suspension 3 according to the fifth embodiment Laser fixing guide 83 Laser mounting groove 84 Laser 85 Light reflecting surface D Disc D1 Recording layer

Claims (17)

For recording to float a near-field light assisted magnetic recording slider that performs magnetic recording while heating a part of the surface of a rotating recording medium with near-field light while maintaining a predetermined distance from the surface of the recording medium Flexure,
A light guide is formed on the substrate;
The light guide portion tip surface of the light guide portion has a function of reflecting light,
The recording flexure, wherein the leading end surface of the light guide portion projects forward from the leading end surface of the substrate in the longitudinal direction of the light guide portion.   The recording flexure according to claim 1, wherein the leading end surface of the light guide unit has an angle in a range of 45 degrees to 55 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the light guide unit.   A waveguide having a structure in which the light guide portion is made of resin, has a core portion having a predetermined refractive index, and a clad portion having a lower refractive index than the core portion, and the clad portion surrounds the core portion. The recording flexure according to claim 1, wherein the recording flexure is provided.   The recording flexure according to claim 1, wherein the light guide portion is an optical fiber whose side surface is polished.   The recording flexure according to claim 1, wherein the light guide unit includes a light source.   The recording flexure according to claim 5, wherein the light guide unit includes the light source, and light emitted from the light source propagates through the light guide unit. On the substrate, electrical wiring connected to the slider for near-field light assisted magnetic recording is formed,
2. The recording flexure according to claim 1, wherein a leading end surface of the light guide portion projects forward from a tip end of the electric wiring in a longitudinal direction of the light guide portion.   A head gimbal assembly, wherein the slider is fixed to the recording flexure according to claim 1.   9. The head gimbal assembly according to claim 8, wherein the fixing is an adhesion between the light guide unit surface and the slider surface.   The slider has a light guide part in the slider having a light guide function inside or on the surface, and the light guide part in the slider emits the near-field light to a medium facing surface facing the recording medium surface. A light incident port on a surface opposite to the medium facing surface, and the light incident port is aligned with and fixed to the light guide unit front surface, and is emitted from the light guide unit front surface. The head gimbal assembly according to claim 8, wherein the incident light is incident on the light incident port.   11. The head gimbal assembly according to claim 10, wherein the light guide portion in the slider is a spot size converter type waveguide having a light collecting function.   The head gimbal assembly according to claim 10, further comprising a near-field light generating element that converts the propagated light into near-field light at the light exit port.   13. The head gimbal assembly according to claim 12, wherein the near-field light generating element is disposed adjacent to a magnetic pole for performing the magnetic recording of the slider. A method for manufacturing a flexure for recording according to claim 3,
Applying a clad resin material on the substrate to form an underclad film;
Applying a core resin material having a higher refractive index than the underclad resin material on the underclad film to form a core film;
Processing the core film into a plurality of parallel core portions of a predetermined shape by patterning by photolithography; and
Applying the clad resin material on the core part to form an overclad film;
Removing a portion of the substrate by etching to produce a protruding structure in which the under cladding film, the core portion, and the over cladding portion protrude from an end of the substrate;
A method of manufacturing a flexure for recording, comprising a step of forming the leading end surface of the light guide unit by cutting the leading end portions of the plurality of protruding structures at a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate.   The method for manufacturing a recording flexure according to claim 14, wherein tips of the plurality of protruding structures are simultaneously cut at a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate. A manufacturing method of a flexure for recording according to claim 4,
Polishing a side surface of the optical fiber;
Fixing the optical fiber to the substrate such that its tip protrudes from the end of the substrate;
A method for manufacturing a recording flexure, comprising the step of cutting the tip of the optical fiber at a predetermined angle.   17. The method for manufacturing a recording flexure according to claim 16, wherein respective tip portions of the optical fibers are simultaneously cut at a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate.

Images