JP5692724B2 - Near-field light generating element manufacturing method, near-field light generating element, near-field light head, and information recording / reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a near-field light generating element that records and reproduces various kinds of information on a magnetic recording medium using near-field light collected from a light beam, a near-field light generating element, a near-field light head, and information recording The present invention relates to a playback device.

  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 is close to that of room temperature, and the recorded information is reversed or lost due to thermal fluctuation, etc. Will occur.

  In the in-plane recording method that has been generally used, the magnetism is recorded so that the direction of magnetization is in the in-plane direction of the recording medium. In this method, the recorded information is lost due to the thermal demagnetization described above. Is likely to occur. Therefore, in order to solve such problems, in recent years, a perpendicular recording method for recording a magnetization signal in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium has been adopted. 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.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the above-described problems, the magnetic domain is locally heated using spot light that has collected light or near-field light to temporarily reduce the coercive force, and to the recording medium in the meantime. A hybrid magnetic recording type recording / reproducing head is provided.
Among such recording / reproducing heads, a recording / reproducing head (near-field optical head) using near-field light includes a slider, a recording element having a main magnetic pole and an auxiliary magnetic pole disposed on the slider, and an irradiated laser. A near-field light generating element that generates near-field light from light, a laser light source that irradiates laser light toward the near-field light generating element, and an optical waveguide that guides the laser light emitted from the laser light source to the near-field light generating element (See, for example, Patent Document 1). The near-field light generating element includes a core that propagates the laser light while reflecting it, a light flux propagation element that has a clad that is in close contact with the core and seals the core, and a near-field light that is disposed between the core and the clad. And a metal film for generating. The core is drawn so that the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the propagation direction of the laser beam from one end side (light incident side) to the other end side (light emitting side) gradually decreases, and the laser beam is condensed It propagates toward the other end side. And the metal film mentioned above is arrange | positioned at the side surface of the other end side in a core.

When the recording / reproducing head configured as described above is used, various information is recorded on the recording medium by generating a near-field light and simultaneously applying a recording magnetic field. That is, the laser light emitted from the laser light source enters the light flux propagation element via the optical waveguide. The laser light incident on the light flux propagation element propagates through the core and reaches the metal film. Then, in the metal film, the internal free electrons are uniformly oscillated by the laser beam, so that the plasmon is excited, and the near-field light is generated in a localized state on the other end side of the core. As a result, the magnetic recording layer of the magnetic recording medium is locally heated by near-field light, and the coercive force temporarily decreases.
Further, by supplying a drive current to the recording element simultaneously with the laser light irradiation described above, a recording magnetic field is locally applied to the magnetic recording layer of the magnetic recording medium close to the tip of the main magnetic pole. As a result, various kinds of information can be recorded on the magnetic recording layer whose coercive force has temporarily decreased. That is, recording on the magnetic recording medium can be performed by the cooperation of the near-field light and the magnetic field.

JP 2008-152897 A

  By the way, in order to further increase the density of the recording medium, the spot size of the near-field light is reduced, the magnetic recording layer of the magnetic recording medium is heated more locally, and the influence of the above-described thermal fluctuation phenomenon, etc. It is necessary to suppress it. In order to reduce the spot size of the near-field light, it is conceivable to reduce the width of the metal film (the width of the interface with the core as seen from the propagation direction of the laser light).

  However, the metal film (and the core) is a very fine pattern (each having a dimension of about several tens of nanometers), and an expensive manufacturing apparatus is required to form such a fine pattern after the respective positions are aligned. Must be used. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased due to the increase in apparatus cost.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to suppress near-field light having a desired spot size while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost. A production method of a generation element, a near-field light generation element, a near-field light head, and an information recording / reproducing apparatus are provided.

The present invention provides the following means in order to solve the above-described problems.
The method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element according to the present invention includes a core that propagates while converging a light beam introduced to an end side toward the other end side, and seals the core in close contact with a side surface of the core A near-field light, comprising: a clad, and a near-field light generator disposed between the core and the clad, wherein the light flux propagates along the interface with the core and generates near-field light from the light flux. A generation method of a generation element, wherein a first clad forming step of forming a first clad among the clads, and a near-field light generating part for forming a base material of the near-field light generating part on the first clad Forming a core, forming a core of the core so as to cover the base of the near-field light generator, patterning the core of the core, and the base of the near-field light generator , The core forming the core and the near-field light generating part A second cladding forming step of forming a second cladding of the cladding so as to sandwich the core between the first cladding and the first cladding, and the patterning step is performed from the one end side. A first patterning step of patterning the base material of the core so that a main body portion that tapers toward the other end side and a tongue portion extending from the main body portion to the other end side with a constant width remain; and Second patterning is performed by collectively etching the base material of the core and the base material of the near-field light generating unit patterned in the patterning step, and patterning the core material and the base material of the near-field light generating unit. A core material of the core is made of a material having an etching rate larger than that of the base material of the near-field light generating unit, and in the second patterning step, the core And the base material, by utilizing the difference in etching rate in the base material of the near-field light generating part, and characterized in that the base material, and patterning the base material of the near-field light generating portion of the core.

  According to this configuration, in the second patterning step, when the core base material and the near-field light generating portion base material are etched together, the core base material and the near-field light generating portion base material Since the difference in the etching rate due to the difference in the constituent materials is used, the near-field light generating part can be formed in a desired shape only by managing the etching time. Thereby, it is not necessary to use an expensive apparatus for forming a fine pattern of the core and the near-field light generating part. Accordingly, it is possible to generate near-field light having a desired spot size while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost.

  Further, in the first patterning step, patterning is performed so as to have a rectangular shape when viewed from the propagation direction of the light beam from the one end side toward the other end side, and in the second patterning step, the core material of the core, and Sputter etching is performed in plasma on the base material of the near-field light generating unit, the tongue of the core base material is removed, and the near-field light generating unit in a region corresponding to the tongue is An extending part extending with a constant width toward the other end side from the core and a top part protruding toward the core side when viewed from the propagation direction in the extending part are formed.

According to this configuration, when sputter etching is performed in the second patterning step, each corner of the core base material after the first patterning step is selectively etched. In this state, when the etching is further continued and the outer shape is reduced while the core base material maintains a similar shape, the base material of the near-field light generating portion covered by the core base material is exposed.
At this time, in the region of the tongue portion, the base material of the near-field light generating portion is exposed at the outer peripheral edge of the tongue portion. Thereafter, by further continuing the sputter etching, the base material of the near-field light generating portion is gradually etched from the portion exposed from the tongue portion (corner portion of the outer peripheral edge). Finally, the tongue portion is completely removed, so that only the base material of the near-field light generating portion covered with the tongue portion remains. As a result, an extending portion extending in the same width as the tongue portion is formed in the near-field light generating portion in the region corresponding to the tongue portion. At this time, as described above, the base material of the near-field light generating portion exposed from the tongue portion is gradually etched inward from the corner portion of the outer peripheral edge, so that the end portion of the extending portion is extended to the end by the tongue portion. The top part which protrudes toward the core side remains in the covered part.
In the near-field light generating part formed in this way, surface plasmons are excited by the incidence of a light beam propagating through the core. The excited surface plasmon propagates toward the other end side on the near-field light generating portion, becomes near-field light having a high light intensity at the top, and leaks to the outside.
Thus, by forming the apex, near-field light having a spot size narrower than the width of the interface with the core as viewed from the propagation direction of the light beam can be generated.

Further, the near-field light generating element of the present invention is a near-field light generating element manufactured using the method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element of the present invention, wherein the near-field light generating part is the main body part. A base portion disposed on one side surface of the core along the direction of propagation of the light beam from the one end side toward the other end side, and a region corresponding to the tongue portion in the region corresponding to the one end side. And an extending portion extending at a constant width from the end side toward the other end side in the propagation direction from the core.
According to this configuration, since the width of the extending portion can be formed to a desired width by manufacturing using the method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element of the present invention, an increase in manufacturing cost is suppressed. Above, near-field light of a desired spot size can be generated.

The near-field optical head according to the present invention heats a magnetic recording medium rotating in a fixed direction and applies a recording magnetic field to the magnetic recording medium to cause magnetization reversal and record information. An optical head, a slider disposed opposite to the surface of the magnetic recording medium, a recording element disposed on the leading end side of the slider and having a main magnetic pole and an auxiliary magnetic pole for generating the recording magnetic field, and the other end side The near-field light generating element of the present invention, which is fixed adjacent to the recording element in the state where the magnetic recording medium is directed to the magnetic recording medium side, and the slider is fixed to the light flux into the core from the one end side. And a light beam introducing means to be introduced.
According to this configuration, since the near-field light generating element of the present invention is provided, stable recording can be performed while suppressing the influence of the above-described thermal fluctuation phenomenon or the like. Therefore, the writing reliability of the near-field optical head itself can be improved, and the quality can be improved.

An information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is movable in a direction parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium and the near-field optical head of the present invention, and is parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium and orthogonal to each other. A beam that supports the near-field light head on the tip side while being rotatable about two axes, a light source that makes the light beam incident on the light beam propagation element, and a base end side of the beam , An actuator for moving the beam in a direction parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium, a rotation driving unit for rotating the magnetic recording medium in the fixed direction, and a control for controlling the operation of the recording element and the light source. And a section.
According to this configuration, since the near-field optical head according to the present invention is provided, the reliability of writing can be improved and the quality can be improved.

According to the method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element and the near-field light generating element according to the present invention, it is possible to generate near-field light having a desired spot size while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost.
According to the near-field optical head and the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, stable recording can be performed while suppressing the influence of the above-described thermal fluctuation phenomenon. Therefore, writing reliability is high, high density recording can be supported, and high quality can be achieved.

It is a block diagram of the information recording / reproducing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the suspension as viewed from the recording / reproducing head side with the recording / reproducing head facing upward. It is the top view which looked at the gimbal in the state where the recording and reproducing head was faced up. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 3. It is an expanded sectional view of a recording / reproducing head. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a side surface on the outflow end side of a recording / reproducing head. It is a perspective view of a core and a metal film. It is sectional drawing of a core and a metal film. It is the E section enlarged view of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is F arrow line view of FIG. It is explanatory drawing at the time of recording / reproducing information with an information recording / reproducing apparatus, Comprising: It is a figure equivalent to FIG. It is explanatory drawing at the time of recording / reproducing information with an information recording / reproducing apparatus, Comprising: It is a figure equivalent to FIG. It is process drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a near-field light generating element, Comprising: It is a top view of a core base material. It is process drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a near-field light generating element, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which follows the GG line of Fig.14 (a). It is process drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a near-field light generating element, (a) is sectional drawing which follows the II line | wire of FIG.14 (c), (b) is H- of FIG.14 (c). It is sectional drawing which follows a H line. It is process drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a near-field light generating element, Comprising: It is sectional drawing equivalent to the II line | wire of FIG.14 (c). It is sectional drawing to which the front side of the recording / reproducing head in 2nd Embodiment was expanded. It is process drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the near-field light generating element in 2nd Embodiment, Comprising: It is sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. FIG. 18 is a process diagram for explaining another manufacturing method of the near-field light generating element, and a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 17. FIG. 18 is a process diagram for explaining another manufacturing method of the near-field light generating element, and a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 17.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Note that the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment uses the hybrid magnetic recording method in which the near-field light R and the recording magnetic field cooperate with the disk D (magnetic recording medium) D having the perpendicular recording layer d2. This is an apparatus for recording and reproducing (see FIG. 2).

(First embodiment)
(Information recording / reproducing device)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information recording / reproducing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a carriage 11, a head gimbal assembly (HGA) 12 supported on the front end side of the carriage 11, and a head gimbal assembly 12 on a disk surface D1 (disc Recording / reproducing of the head gimbal assembly 12 with a current modulated according to the information, an actuator 5 that scans and moves in an XY direction parallel to the surface of D), a spindle motor 6 that rotates the disk D in a predetermined direction, and the like. A control unit 8 that supplies the head (near-field light head) 2 and a housing 9 that accommodates these components are provided.

  The housing 9 is made of a metal material such as aluminum and has a quadrangular shape when viewed from above, 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 6 is attached to substantially the center of the recess 9a, and the disc D is detachably fixed by fitting a center hole into the spindle motor 6. In the present embodiment, the case where three disks D are fixed to the spindle motor 6 is described as an example. However, the number of disks D is not limited to three.

An actuator 5 is attached to the corner of the recess 9a. A carriage 11 is attached to the actuator 5 via a pivot shaft 10. The carriage 11 has an arm portion 14 extending along the disk surface D1 from the base end portion toward the tip portion, and a base portion 15 that supports the arm portion 14 in a cantilever manner via the base end portion. It is integrally formed by a drawing process or the like.
The base portion 15 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is supported so as to be rotatable around the pivot shaft 10. That is, the base portion 15 is connected to the actuator 5 via the pivot shaft 10, and the pivot shaft 10 is the rotation center of the carriage 11.

  The arm portion 14 extends in parallel with the surface direction (XY direction) of the upper surface of the base portion 15 on a side surface 15b opposite to the side surface 15a to which the actuator 5 is attached in the base portion 15 (side surface opposite to the corner portion). 3 pieces extending along the height direction (Z direction) of the base portion 15. Specifically, the arm portion 14 is formed in a tapered shape that tapers from the proximal end portion toward the distal end portion, and is arranged so that the disk D is sandwiched between the arm portions 14. That is, the arm portion 14 and the disk D are arranged so as to alternate with each other, and the arm portion 14 can be moved in a direction parallel to the surface of the disk D (XY direction) by driving the actuator 5. The carriage 11 and the head gimbal assembly 12 are retracted from the disk D by driving the actuator 5 when the rotation of the disk D is stopped.

(Head gimbal assembly)
The head gimbal assembly 12 supports the recording / reproducing head 2 which is a near-field light head having a near-field light generating element (light beam propagation element) 26 described later.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the suspension as viewed from the recording / reproducing head side with the recording / reproducing head facing upward. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gimbal with the recording / reproducing head facing upward. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the recording / reproducing head.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the head gimbal assembly 12 of the present embodiment has a function of floating the recording / reproducing head 2 from the disk D. The recording / reproducing head 2 and a thin plate made of a metallic material are used. The suspension 3 that is formed in a shape and is movable in the XY directions parallel to the disk surface D1 and the recording / reproducing head 2 are rotated about two axes (X axis, Y axis) that are parallel to the disk surface D1 and orthogonal to each other. Gimbal means 16 that is fixed to the lower surface of the suspension 3 so as to be twisted about the two axes in a free state is provided.

(suspension)
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the suspension 3 described above includes a base plate 51 formed in a substantially square shape in a top view and a load in a substantially triangular shape in a plan view connected to the front end side of the base plate 51 via a hinge plate 52. And a beam 53.

The base plate 51 is made of a thin metal material such as stainless steel, and an opening 51a penetrating in the thickness direction is formed on the base end side. And the base plate 51 is being fixed to the front-end | tip of the arm part 14 through this opening 51a.
A sheet-like hinge plate 52 made of a metal material such as stainless steel is disposed on the lower surface of the base plate 51. The hinge plate 52 is a flat plate material formed over the entire lower surface of the base plate 51, and its tip portion extends from the tip of the base plate 51 along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the base plate 51. It is formed as a protruding portion 52a. Two extending portions 52a extend from both end portions in the width direction (Y direction) of the hinge plate 52, and a load beam 53 is connected to the tip portion.

The load beam 53 is formed of a thin metal material such as stainless steel like the base plate 51, and the base end thereof is connected to the hinge plate 52 with a gap between the base end of the load beam 53 and the base plate 51. .
Thus, the suspension 3 is bent around the base plate 51 and the load beam 53, and is easily bent in the Z direction perpendicular to the disk surface D1.

A flexure 54 is provided on the suspension 3.
The flexure 54 is a sheet-like material formed of a metal material such as stainless steel, and is configured to be able to bend and deform in the thickness direction by being formed in a sheet shape. Further, the flexure 54 is fixed to the distal end side of the load beam 53, and the outer shape of the gimbal 17 is formed in a substantially pentagonal shape when viewed from above, and is formed narrower than the gimbal 17. And a support 18 extending along the line.

The gimbal 17 is formed so as to slightly warp in the thickness direction from the vicinity of the middle to the tip toward the disk surface D1. Then, the warped end is fixed to the load beam 53 from the base end side to the vicinity of the middle so as not to contact the load beam 53. Further, a notch 59 having a U-shaped perforation is formed on the tip side of the floating gimbal 17, and a portion surrounded by the notch 59 is cantilevered by a connecting portion 17 a. A supported pad portion 17b is formed.
That is, the pad portion 17b is formed so as to project from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the gimbal 17 by the connecting portion 17a, and is provided with a notch 59 around the periphery.

  Accordingly, the pad portion 17 b is easily bent in the thickness direction of the gimbal 17, and the angle is adjusted so that only the pad portion 17 b is parallel to the lower surface of the suspension 3. The recording / reproducing head 2 described above is placed and fixed on the pad portion 17b. That is, the recording / reproducing head 2 is hung from the load beam 53 via the pad portion 17b.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a protrusion 19 is formed at the tip of the load beam 53 so as to protrude toward the approximate center of the pad 17 b and the recording / reproducing head 2. The tip of the projection 19 is rounded. The protrusion 19 is in point contact with the surface (upper surface) of the pad portion 17b when the recording / reproducing head 2 floats to the load beam 53 side by the wind pressure received from the disk D.
That is, the protrusion 19 supports the recording / reproducing head 2 via the pad portion 17b of the gimbal 17 and applies a load to the recording / reproducing head 2 toward the disc surface D1 (toward the Z direction). It has become.
The protrusions 19 and the gimbal 17 having the pad portions 17b constitute the gimbal means 16.

(Recording / reproducing head)
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the side surface on the outflow end side of the recording / reproducing head.
The recording / reproducing head 2 is supported between the disk D and the suspension 3 with a gimbal 17 sandwiched between the lower surface of the suspension 3.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the recording / reproducing head 2 is a head that records and reproduces various information on a rotating disk D using near-field light R generated from laser light L. The recording / reproducing head 2 includes a slider 20 that is opposed to the disk D in a state of floating a predetermined distance H from the disk surface D1, a recording element 21 that records information on the disk D, and information recorded on the disk D. The reproducing element 22 that reproduces the laser beam L while condensing the laser beam L, generates the near-field light R, emits the near-field light generating element 26 to the outside, and the laser light L toward the near-field light generating element 26. And a laser light source 29 that emits light.

  The slider 20 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape from a light transmissive material such as quartz glass, a ceramic such as AlTiC (altic), or the like. The slider 20 has a facing surface 20a facing the disk D, and is supported by the pad portion 17b described above via a laser mount 43 described later.

  Further, on the facing surface 20a, there is formed a ridge portion 20b that generates a pressure for rising from the viscosity of the air flow generated by the rotating disk D. The ridges 20b are formed so as to extend along the longitudinal direction (X direction), and two are formed on the left and right (Y direction) at intervals so as to be arranged in a rail shape. However, the ridge portion 20b is not limited to this case, and adjusts the positive pressure for separating the slider 20 from the disk surface D1 and the negative pressure for attracting the slider 20 to the disk surface D1. As long as the slider 20 is designed to float in an optimal state, any uneven shape may be used. In addition, the surface of this protruding item | line part 20b is called ABS (AIR BEARING SURFACE) 20c.

The slider 20 receives a force that rises from the disk surface D1 by the two ridges 20b. On the other hand, the suspension 3 bends in the Z direction perpendicular to the disk surface D1, and absorbs the flying force of the slider 20. That is, the slider 20 receives a force pressed against the disk surface D1 side by the suspension 3 when it floats. Therefore, the slider 20 floats in a state of being separated from the disk surface D1 by a predetermined distance H as described above due to the balance between the forces of the two. Moreover, since the slider 20 is rotated around the X axis and the Y axis by the gimbal means 16, it always floats in a state where the posture is stable.
The air flow generated along with the rotation of the disk D flows from the inflow end side of the slider 20 (X direction base end side of the suspension 3), then flows along the ABS 20c, and flows out of the slider 20 (suspension 3 side). From the X direction tip side).
Hereinafter, the inflow end side (leading edge side) of the slider 20, that is, the right side in the X direction in FIG. 5 is “rear”, and the outflow end side (trailing edge side) of the slider 20, that is, the left side in the X direction in FIG. " Further, the disk surface D1 side with respect to the recording / reproducing head 2, that is, the lower side in the Z direction in FIG. 5 is defined as “lower”, and the opposite side, that is, the upper side in the Z direction in FIG.

  The recording element 21 is an element that records information by generating a recording magnetic field from the facing surface 21a facing the disk surface D1 shown in FIG. 5 and acting on the disk D, as shown in FIG. It is held at the front end of the slider 20. The recording element 21 includes an auxiliary magnetic pole 31 fixed to the front end surface (front end surface) of the slider 20, and a main magnetic pole 32 disposed in front of the auxiliary magnetic pole 31 and connected to the auxiliary magnetic pole 31 via a magnetic circuit 32. A magnetic pole 33 and a coil 34 spirally wound around the magnetic circuit 32 around the magnetic circuit 32 are provided. That is, the auxiliary magnetic pole 31, the magnetic circuit 32, the coil 34, and the main magnetic pole 33 are arranged in this order from the front end surface of the slider 20 toward the front.

  Both the magnetic poles 31 and 33 and the magnetic circuit 32 are made of a high saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) material (for example, CoNiFe alloy, CoFe alloy, etc.) having a high magnetic flux density. Further, the coil 34 is arranged so that there is a gap between adjacent coil wires, between the magnetic circuit 32 and between the magnetic poles 31 and 33 so as not to be short-circuited. Molded. The coil 34 is supplied with a current modulated according to information from the control unit 8 (see FIG. 1). That is, the magnetic circuit 32 and the coil 34 constitute an electromagnet as a whole. Further, the opposing surfaces 33a, 31a, and 35a (Z direction end surfaces) facing the disk surface D1 of the main magnetic pole 33, the auxiliary magnetic pole 31, and the insulator 35 described above are formed flush with the ABS 20c of the slider 20, respectively. . In the recording element 21 configured as described above, when a current is supplied to the coil 34, a recording magnetic field is generated from the opposing surface 33 a of the main magnetic pole 33 and entering the opposing surface 31 a of the auxiliary magnetic pole 31.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the near-field light generating element 26 is an element that generates near-field light R from the facing surface 26a facing the disk surface D1, and is in front of the recording element 21 (with respect to the main magnetic pole 33 shown in FIG. 6). It is disposed on the side opposite to the auxiliary magnetic pole 31. The near-field light generating element 26 is disposed in close contact with the core 23 that extends upward and downward with the front end facing the disk surface D1, and the side surface (side surface 23g) on the main magnetic pole 33 side at the lower end of the core 23. A metal film (near-field light generating part) 71, a light shielding film 27 that covers the lower end of the core 23, and a clad 24 that is in close contact with the side surface of the core 23 and seals the core 23 are provided.

7 is a perspective view of the core and the metal film, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the core and the metal film, (a) is a BB line in FIG. 7, (b) is a CC line in FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the core 23 is a light flux propagating member that propagates the laser light L incident from the upper end side (one end side) while condensing it toward the lower end side (the other end side). The core 23 is gradually drawn from the upper end side to the lower end side so that the laser beam L can be propagated while gradually condensing inside. More specifically, the core 23 includes a light beam condensing unit 23a and a near-field light generating unit 23b from the upper side.

  The light beam condensing unit 23a is a portion formed by drawing so that a cross-sectional area (cross-sectional area in the XY direction) perpendicular to the Z direction from the upper end side toward the lower end side gradually decreases, and collects the introduced laser light L. The light is propagated downward while shining. That is, the spot size of the laser beam L introduced into the light beam condensing unit 23a can be gradually reduced to a smaller size. Specifically, the light beam condensing unit 23a includes a trapezoidal part 41 (see FIG. 8C) having a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape (incident side end surface) viewed from the Z direction on the upper end side, and a trapezoidal part 41 A triangular portion 42 (see FIG. 8B) that is integrally connected to the lower end portion and has a triangular cross-sectional shape viewed from the Z direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8C, the trapezoidal portion 41 is formed in a flat shape in which the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction (Y direction) and the front-rear direction (X direction) is the short direction. Specifically, the trapezoidal portion 41 is parallel to the rear side surface 23g, a pair of side surfaces 23k extending from the left and right ends (Y direction both ends) of the side surface 23g so as to taper toward the reproducing element 22, and the side surface 23g. And a side surface 23j that spans a pair of side surfaces 23k. The trapezoidal portion 41 is formed such that the length (width in the Y direction) of both bottom surfaces (the rear side surface 23g and the front side surface 23j) gradually decreases toward the lower end side. The upper end surface 41a of the trapezoidal portion 41 (the upper end surface of the core 23) is formed flush with the upper surface of the slider 20, and is exposed to the outside.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (b), the triangular portion 42 has a bottom surface and a pair of inclined surfaces constituted by the side surface 23g and the side surface 23k described above. The triangular portion 42 is formed so that the length of the bottom surface (side surface 23g) and the length of the inclined surface (side surface 23k) gradually decrease toward the lower end side.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 6, and FIG. 11 is a view taken in the direction of arrow F in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 7-11, the near-field light generation part 23b is a part further drawn from the lower end part of the triangular part 42 in the light beam condensing part 23a downward. The near-field light generator 23b has a triangular cross-section when viewed from the Z direction. Specifically, the near-field light generator 23 b has a bottom surface constituted by a side surface 23 g, and the side surface 23 g is in close contact with the tip portion 33 b of the main magnetic pole 33. The near-field light generator 23b is formed with a pair of side surfaces 23d from both ends (both ends in the Y direction) of the side surface 23g toward the reproducing element 22 (in the X direction). The side surface 23d extends in a state inclined with respect to the optical axis (Z direction) of the laser light L, whereby the near-field light generating unit 23b is in a state of being pointed on the lower end side. The lower end of the near-field light generator 23b is located above the ABS 20c of the slider 20, is covered with the clad 24, and is not exposed to the outside. Thus, in the core 23, the upper end surface 41a of the trapezoidal portion 41 constitutes the incident end of the laser light L emitted from the laser light source 29, and the lower end portion of the near-field light generating portion 23b constitutes the emission end of the laser light L. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the clad 24 is a mold member that is formed of a material having a lower refractive index than the core 23, is in close contact with the side surfaces 23 d, 23 g, 23 j, and 23 k and seals the core 23. The clad 24 exposes the upper end surface 41a of the core 23 to the outside, and seals the lower end of the core 23 inside. Specifically, the clad 24 includes a first clad 24 a formed so as to cover the core 23 from the rear side between the core 23 and the recording element 21 (main magnetic pole 33), and between the core 23 and the reproducing element 22. And a second clad 24b formed so as to cover the core 23 from the front side. Thus, since the first clad 24 a and the second clad 24 b are in close contact with the side surfaces 23 d, 23 g, 23 j, and 23 k of the core 23, no gap is generated between the core 23 and the clad 24. .

An example of a combination of materials used for the clad 24 and the core 23 is described, for example, a combination in which the core 23 is formed of quartz (SiO ₂ ) and the clad 24 is formed of quartz doped with fluorine. In this case, when the wavelength of the laser beam L is 400 nm, the refractive index of the core 23 is 1.47 and the refractive index of the clad 24 is less than 1.47, which is a preferable combination.
A combination in which the core 23 is formed of quartz doped with germanium and the clad 24 is formed of quartz (SiO ₂ ) is also conceivable. In this case, when the wavelength of the laser beam L is 400 nm, the refractive index of the core 23 becomes larger than 1.47 and the refractive index of the cladding 24 becomes 1.47, which is also a preferable combination.
In particular, as the difference in refractive index between the core 23 and the clad 24 increases, the force for confining the laser light L in the core 23 increases. Therefore, when the core 23 has tantalum oxide (Ta ₂ O ₅ : wavelength is 550 nm) 2.16) and quartz or alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or the like is used for the clad 24 to increase the refractive index difference between the two. In addition, when using the laser light L in the infrared region, it is also effective to form the core 23 with silicon (Si: refractive index is about 4) which is a material transparent to infrared light.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, a metal film 71 is formed between the core 23 and the first cladding 24 a. The metal film 71 generates near-field light R from the laser light L propagating through the core 23 and localizes the near-field light R between the lower end side of the near-field light generating element 26 and the disk D. For example, it is composed of gold (Au), platinum (Pt), or the like. Further, the rear side surface 71a (see FIG. 10) of the metal film 71 is in contact with the tip portion 33b of the main magnetic pole 33 exposed from the first cladding 24a.

Here, the metal film 71 has a base portion 72 disposed on the side surface 23g of the near-field light generating portion 23b in the core 23, and an extending portion 73 extending downward from the base portion 72. .
The base portion 72 has a triangular shape as viewed from the X direction, and a first base portion 74 having a width in the Y direction wider than that of the core 23, and a front portion through a stepped portion 78 from the center portion of the first base portion 74. A second base 75 that is erected toward the core 23 side is continuously provided.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the first base 74 is located at the boundary between the near-field light generator 23 b and the light beam collector 23 a in the Z direction, and the lower end is the same as the lower end of the core 23. Located in position. Further, the first base 74 is formed so that the width in the Y direction gradually decreases toward the front. Specifically, side surfaces 74a (see FIG. 9) on both sides in the Y direction of the first base portion 74 are formed in inclined surfaces parallel to the side surface 23d of the core 23. That is, the angle between both ends in the Y direction in the first base 74 (the angle formed between the side surface 71a and the side surface 74a) is the angle between both ends in the Y direction in the near-field light generating unit 23b (the angle formed between the side surface 23g and the side surface 23d). It is formed in the same way.

The stepped portion 78 is a flat surface along the XY direction, and a second base 75 is formed inside the Y direction.
The second base 75 is formed to have a length in the Z direction equivalent to that of the first base 74, a width in the Y direction smaller than that of the first base 74, and an outer shape in the XY direction having a near-field light generation unit 23b. It is formed equivalent to the side surface 23g. Further, the second base 75 is formed so that the width in the Y direction gradually becomes smaller toward the front. Specifically, the side surfaces 75a (see FIG. 9) on both sides in the Y direction of the second base portion 75 are formed on inclined surfaces arranged on the same plane as the side surface 23d of the core 23. That is, the angle between both ends in the Y direction in the second base 75 (the angle formed between the side surface 71a and the side surface 75a) is the angle between both ends in the Y direction in the near-field light generating unit 23b (the angle formed between the side surface 23g and the side surface 23d). It is formed in the same way.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, the extending portion 73 has a thickness in the X direction that is equal to that of the first base portion 74, and extends downward from the lower end portion of the first base portion 74 (the top portion of the first base portion 74). The lower end portion is exposed to the outside on the facing surface 26 a of the near-field light generating element 26. That is, the extending portion 73 has an upper end portion disposed at the same position as the lower end of the near-field light generating portion 23 b in the Z direction, and the lower end portion is formed flush with the ABS 20 c of the slider 20. Further, the extending portion 73 is formed so that the width in the Y direction is narrower than the tip portion 33 b of the main magnetic pole 33.

A protruding portion 76 that is erected toward the front (on the core 23 side) is formed at the center of the extending portion 73 in the Y direction. The projecting portion 76 is formed in a triangular shape that tapers toward the front as viewed from the Z direction, and the position of the top portion 77 is arranged at the same position in the X direction as the side surface 23g on the rear side of the core 23 described above.
Further, the protruding portion 76 is formed over the entire extending portion 73 in the Z direction. Specifically, the protrusion 76 has an upper end continuous to the lower end of the second base 75 and a lower end formed flush with the ABS 20 c of the slider 20 and exposed to the outside. Therefore, the top 77 described above extends from the lower end of the second base 75 in a ridgeline shape along the Z direction. Further, the ridgeline of the top portion 77 is arranged on the same straight line as the ridgeline of the near-field light generating unit 23b (ridgeline formed by the side surfaces 23d) when viewed from the X direction.

  The light shielding film 27 blocks light incident on the near-field light generation unit 23b from the outside and prevents the laser light L propagating through the core 23 from leaking from the core 23. Aluminum (Al ) And the like. The light shielding film 27 is formed so as to cover the side surface 23d of the near-field light generating unit 23b. That is, the near-field light generating unit 23 b has the side surface 23 g covered with the metal film 71 described above and the side surface 23 d covered with the light shielding film 27. That is, in the metal film 71 described above, the base portion 72 is covered with the light shielding film 27 when viewed from the X direction, and the extending portion 73 extends below the lower end portion of the light shielding film 27. The light shielding film 27 may be formed so as to cover the entire region of the metal film 71 when viewed from the X direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the reproducing element 22 is a magnetoresistive film whose electric resistance is converted according to the magnitude of the magnetic field leaking from the perpendicular recording layer d2 (see FIG. 5) of the disk D. It is formed on the front end face of the clad 24 (second clad 24 b) opposite to the recording element 21 with the near-field light generating element 26 interposed therebetween. A bias current is supplied to the reproducing element 22 from the control unit 8 via an electric wiring 56 described later. Thus, the control unit 8 can detect a change in the magnetic field leaking from the disk D as a change in voltage, and can reproduce a signal from the change in voltage.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a laser light source 29 is mounted on the slider 20 of the recording / reproducing head 2 described above. The laser light source 29 has a laser mount 43 fixed to the upper surface of the slider 20 and a semiconductor laser chip 44 fixed to the front end surface 43 a of the laser mount 43.

  The laser mount 43 is a plate-like member made of, for example, the same material as that of the slider 20 and having an outer shape in the XY directions that is equivalent to that of the slider 20, and the upper surface side is fixed to a pad portion 17 b described later of the gimbal 17. . That is, the slider 20 is fixed to the pad portion 17b with the laser mount 43 sandwiched between the slider 20 and the pad portion 17b. Although not shown, an electrical wiring 56 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, is fixed to the laser mount 43, and is electrically connected to an electrode pad (not shown) formed on the front end surface 43a of the laser mount 43. .

  The semiconductor laser chip 44 is mounted on an electrode pad (not shown) formed on the front end face 43 a of the laser mount 43. In this case, the semiconductor laser chip 44 is disposed so that the emission-side end face 44 a of the laser light L faces downward and faces the upper end face 41 a of the trapezoidal portion 41 of the core 23. The semiconductor laser chip 44 of the present embodiment emits an elliptical laser beam L having a spot shape in which the X direction is the minor axis direction and the Y direction is the major axis direction. In addition, there is a gap K between the emission side end face 44a of the semiconductor laser chip 44 and the upper end face 41a of the trapezoidal portion 41. Oil or the like having a refractive index equivalent to that of the core 23 is placed in this gap K. It may be interposed. The shape of the upper end surface 41a of the trapezoidal portion 41 described above is formed in accordance with the spot shape of the laser light L when it is emitted from the semiconductor laser chip 44 and incident on the upper end surface 41a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the disk D of the present embodiment has at least two of a perpendicular recording layer d2 having an easy axis of magnetization in a direction perpendicular to the disk surface D1 and a soft magnetic layer d3 made of a high magnetic permeability material. A vertical two-layer film disc D composed of layers is used. As such a disk D, for example, a disk in which a soft magnetic layer d3, an intermediate layer d4, a perpendicular recording layer d2, a protective layer d5, and a lubricating layer d6 are sequentially formed on a substrate d1 is used. .
Examples of the substrate d1 include an aluminum substrate and a glass substrate. The soft magnetic layer d3 is a high magnetic permeability layer. The intermediate layer d4 is a crystal control layer of the perpendicular recording layer d2. The perpendicular recording layer d2 is a perpendicular anisotropic magnetic layer, and for example, a CoCrPt alloy is used. The protective layer d5 is for protecting the perpendicular recording layer d2, and for example, a DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) film is used. For the lubrication layer d6, for example, a fluorine-based liquid lubricant is used.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, a terminal substrate 55 is disposed on the side surface 15 c of the base portion 15 of the carriage 11. The terminal board 55 serves as a relay point when the control unit 8 provided in the housing 9 and the recording / reproducing head 2 are electrically connected. Various control circuits (not shown) are provided on the surface of the terminal board 55. Is formed.
The controller 8 and the terminal board 55 are electrically connected by a flexible flat cable 4, while the terminal board 55 and the recording / reproducing head 2 are connected by an electric wiring 56. Three sets of the electrical wiring 56 are provided corresponding to the recording / reproducing heads 2 provided for each carriage 11, and a signal output from the control unit 8 via the flat cable 4 is modulated in accordance with information. An electric current is supplied to the recording / reproducing head 2 via the electric wiring 56.

  The electrical wiring 56 is routed on the arm portion 14 from the surface of the terminal board 55 through the side surface of the arm portion 14. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the electrical wiring 56 is disposed on the support 18 of the flexure 54 on the arm portion 14 and the suspension 3, and the support 18 is sandwiched therebetween. Thus, the suspension 3 is routed to the tip.

The electric wiring 56 includes a first electric wiring 57 for supplying a current to the reproducing element 22 and the recording element 21 at the tip of the suspension 3 (an intermediate position of the gimbal 17), and a current for supplying a current to the laser light source 29. Branches to the second electrical wiring 58.
Specifically, the first electric wiring 57 is bent toward the outer peripheral portion of the gimbal 17 at a branch point on the distal end side of the electric wiring 56, and is routed from the outer peripheral portion of the gimbal 17 (outside the notch 59). Has been. The first electrical wiring 57 routed from the outside of the notch 59 is connected to the front end face side of the recording / reproducing head 2 through the connecting portion 17a. That is, the first electric wiring 57 is directly connected from the outside of the recording / reproducing head 2 to the reproducing element 22 and the recording element 21 provided on the front end face side of the slider 20.

  On the other hand, the second electric wiring 58 extends along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the gimbal 17 from the branch point described above, and straddles the notch 59 of the gimbal 17 from the rear end surface side of the recording / reproducing head 2. The laser mount 43 is directly connected. The second electrical wiring 58 is connected to an electrode pad formed on the front end surface 43a of the laser mount 43, and supplies a current to the semiconductor laser chip 44 through this electrode pad. Further, the second electric wiring 58 is separated from the lower surface of the gimbal 17 at the branch point, and spans between the pad portion 17b and the gimbal 17 as it goes from the branch point toward the front end surface side of the recording / reproducing head 2. It extends in a slightly floating state. That is, on the lower surface of the gimbal 17, the second electric wiring 58 extends substantially linearly (the radius of curvature is substantially infinite), and the recording / reproducing head 2 from the center in the width direction (Y direction) of the recording / reproducing head 2. It is drawn to the back side.

(Information recording and playback method)
Next, a case where various kinds of information is recorded / reproduced on / from the disk D by the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the spindle motor 6 is driven to rotate the disk D in a certain direction. Next, the actuator 5 is actuated to scan the suspension 3 in the XY directions via the carriage 11. Thereby, the recording / reproducing head 2 can be positioned at a desired position on the disk D. At this time, the recording / reproducing head 2 receives a force that rises by the two ridges 20b formed on the opposed surface 20a of the slider 20, and is pressed against the disk D by a predetermined force by the suspension 3 or the like. The recording / reproducing head 2 floats to a position separated from the disk D by a predetermined distance H as shown in FIG.

  Further, even if the recording / reproducing head 2 receives the wind pressure generated due to the undulation of the disk D, the suspension 3 can absorb the displacement in the Z direction and can be displaced around the XY axis by the gimbal 17. Therefore, wind pressure caused by swell can be absorbed. Therefore, the recording / reproducing head 2 can be floated in a stable state.

12 and 13 are explanatory diagrams when information is recorded / reproduced by the information recording / reproducing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6, and FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG.
Here, when recording information, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the control unit 8 operates the laser light source 29 to emit the laser light L, and supplies the coil 34 with a current modulated according to the information. Then, the recording element 21 is operated.
First, the laser light L is emitted from the laser light source 29, and the laser light L is incident from the upper end surface 41 a of the core 23 into the light beam condensing unit 23 a of the core 23. The laser light L propagating through the light beam condensing part 23a propagates while repeating total reflection between the core 23 and the clad 24 toward the lower end side located on the disk D side. In particular, since the clad 24 is in close contact with the side surfaces 23k and 23d of the core 23, light does not leak outside the core 23. Therefore, the introduced laser beam L can be propagated to the lower end side without being wasted and made incident on the near-field light generating unit 23b without being wasted.
At this time, the core 23 is drawn so that the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the Z direction gradually decreases. Therefore, the laser beam L is gradually narrowed as it propagates in the light beam condensing part 23a, and the spot size is reduced.

  Subsequently, the laser beam L having a reduced spot size is incident on the near-field light generator 23b. The near-field light generating part 23b is further drawn toward the lower end side, and has a size equal to or smaller than the wavelength of light. In this case, the two side surfaces 23 d of the near-field light generating unit 23 b are shielded from light by the light shielding film 27. Therefore, the laser light L incident on the near-field light generation unit 23b propagates while being reflected at the interface between the light shielding film 27 and the near-field light generation unit 23b without leaking to the second cladding 24b side.

  Then, the laser light L that has propagated through the near-field light generating unit 23 b to the lower end side enters the metal film 71. Then, surface plasmon is excited in the metal film 71. The excited surface plasmon propagates downward on the metal film 71. Then, when the surface plasmon propagating on the metal film 71 propagates to the extending portion 73, the near-field light R having a high light intensity is obtained at the top portion 77 of the protruding portion 76. The near-field light R generated at the top 77 propagates downward through the top 77, and then leaks to the outside at the lower end (opposing surface 26a of the near-field light generating element 26). That is, the near-field light R can be localized between the lower end side of the near-field light generating element 26 and the disk D. Then, the disk D is locally heated by the near-field light R, and the coercive force is temporarily reduced.

  On the other hand, when a current is supplied to the coil 34 by the control unit 8, a current magnetic field is generated in the magnetic circuit 32 by the principle of the electromagnet, so that the disk D is interposed between the main magnetic pole 33 and the auxiliary magnetic pole 31. A perpendicular recording magnetic field can be generated. Then, the magnetic flux generated from the main magnetic pole 33 side passes straight through the perpendicular recording layer d2 of the disk D and reaches the soft magnetic layer d3. As a result, recording can be performed in a state where the magnetization of the perpendicular recording layer d2 is directed perpendicular to the disk surface D1. The magnetic flux reaching the soft magnetic layer d3 returns to the auxiliary magnetic pole 31 via the soft magnetic layer d3. At this time, when returning to the auxiliary magnetic pole 31, the direction of magnetization is not affected. This is because the area of the auxiliary magnetic pole 31 facing the disk surface D1 is larger than that of the main magnetic pole 33, so that the magnetic flux density is large and a force sufficient to reverse the magnetization does not occur. That is, recording can be performed only on the main magnetic pole 33 side.

  As a result, information can be recorded by a hybrid magnetic recording method in which the near-field light R and the recording magnetic fields generated by the magnetic poles 31 and 33 cooperate. In addition, since the recording is performed by the vertical recording method, it is difficult to be affected by the thermal fluctuation phenomenon and the like, and stable recording can be performed. Therefore, writing reliability can be improved.

  Further, when reproducing information recorded on the disk D, the reproducing element 22 receives a magnetic field leaking from the perpendicular recording layer d2 of the disk D when the coercive force of the disk D is temporarily reduced. Thus, the electrical resistance changes according to the size. Therefore, the voltage of the reproducing element 22 changes. Thereby, the control unit 8 can detect a change in the magnetic field leaking from the disk D as a change in voltage. The control unit 8 can reproduce information recorded on the disk D by reproducing a signal from the change in voltage.

(Method for manufacturing recording / reproducing head)
Next, a manufacturing method of the recording / reproducing head 2 having the above-described near-field light generating element 26 will be described. FIG. 14 is a process diagram for explaining the manufacturing method of the near-field light generating element, and is a plan view of the core base material. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. In the following description, the manufacturing process of the near-field light generating element among the manufacturing processes of the recording / reproducing head 2 will be specifically described.
In the present embodiment, a substrate 120 (for example, AlTiC (AlTiC) or the like) in which a plurality of sliders 20 are connected along the X direction and the Y direction is prepared, and on each formation region of the recording / reproducing head 2 on the substrate 120. The recording element 21, the near-field light generating element 26, and the reproducing element 22 are formed in this order, and then the recording / reproducing head 2 is manufactured by dicing for each formation area of the recording / reproducing head 2.

  First, as shown in FIG. 15A, the recording element 21 (see FIG. 6) is formed on the substrate 120 and molded with the insulator 35. Thereafter, a base material of the near-field light generating element 26 is formed on the insulator 35 (first cladding forming step and core forming step). Specifically, the first clad base material 124a, the metal film base material 171 (for example, about 20 nm), and the core base material 123 (about several μm) are formed in this order on the substrate 120 (insulator 35). In addition, after film-forming of each base material 124a, 171, 123, each surface is grind | polished by CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) etc., and it is set as a flat surface.

  The metal film base material 171 is preferably patterned in advance so that only a predetermined region remains after the film is formed on the entire surface of the first clad base material 124a. In this case, in this embodiment, patterning is performed so as to remove at least the metal film base material 171 in the region corresponding to the light beam condensing portion 23a (see FIG. 6) in the core base material 123 in the Z direction. In this case, in a region corresponding to the near-field light generating unit 23b, the metal film base material 171 is sandwiched between the core base material 123 and the first clad base material 124a, and other regions (for example, a light flux collecting point) In the region corresponding to the optical part 23a), the core base material 123 and the first clad base material 124a are in close contact with each other. As a result, at least in the region corresponding to the light beam condensing portion 23a, the core base material 123 and the first clad base material 124a having higher adhesion to the core base material 123 than the metal film base material 171 are in close contact with each other. become. Thereby, film peeling in the middle of manufacture can be suppressed. It is more preferable that the metal film base material 171 be patterned so as to remain only in the region where the metal film 71 is formed.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15B, a photolithography technique is used to form a mask pattern (not shown) having an opening in a region where the core base material 123 is to be removed on the core base material 123, and this mask pattern. Reactive ion etching (RIE) is performed through the first step (first patterning step). As a result, the core base material 123 in the region where the mask pattern is opened is etched vertically (along the X direction) to form a rectangular core base material 123 as viewed from the Z direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 15B, the core base material 123 is a first base material (main body part) formed in a trapezoidal shape that tapers from the upper end side to the lower end side when viewed from the X direction. 123a, a second base material (main body portion) 123b that tapers further downward from the lower end side of the first base material 123a, and a first base that extends with a constant width downward from the lower end side of the second base material 123b. 3 base materials (tongues) 123c. In the first patterning step, it is preferable that the core base material 123 in the region where the mask pattern is opened is left without being completely removed (see the remaining portion 160 in FIG. 15B).

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 14B and 15C, the core base material 123 and the metal film base material 171 are sputter-etched in a plasma such as argon (Ar) (second patterning step). In the second patterning step, when the core base material 123 having a rectangular cross section described above is sputter-etched, each corner of the core base material 123 is selectively etched to form a slope. If etching is further continued in this state, the inclined surface is etched while maintaining a certain angle with respect to the bottom surface (corresponding to the side surface 23g in FIG. 7). Of the first base material 123a, the upper side is the trapezoidal part 41 of the light beam condensing part 23a, the lower side is the triangular part 42 of the light beam condensing part 23a, and the second base material 123b is the near-field light generating part 23b. . In this case, the third base material 123c remains in a triangular shape when viewed from the Z direction with the corners on both sides in the Y direction removed.

  When the etching is continued in the second patterning step, the core base material 123 is reduced in width (width in the Y direction) and height (height in the X direction) while maintaining the similar shape, and the core base material 123 is reduced. The outer shape of is reduced. Then, the metal film base material 171 covered with the core base material 123 is exposed.

16A and 16B are process diagrams for explaining a manufacturing method of the near-field light generating element, in which FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 14C, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the HH line | wire of ().
As shown in FIGS. 14C and 16, when the sputter etching is further continued from the state where the metal film base material 171 is exposed, the core base material 123 is etched while maintaining the similar shape, and the metal film base material 171 is also etched. Are etched.

  Here, since the material (for example, quartz) used for the core base material 123 (core 23) and the material (for example, gold) used for the metal film base material 171 (metal film 71) are different materials, A difference occurs in the etching rate during sputter etching. In the case of the present embodiment, the material used for the core base material 123 has a higher etching rate than the material used for the metal film base material 171, so that the core base material 123 is more actively etched than the metal film base material 171. Will be.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 14C and 16A, in the region of the second base material 123b in the region where the core base material 123 and the metal film base material 171 overlap in the X direction, the second base material is used. The metal film base material 171 is exposed at the outer peripheral edge of 123b (both sides in the Y direction). As a result, in the region of the second base material 123b, a base portion 72 that is wider in the Y direction than the second base material 123b is formed. Thereafter, the sputter etching is further continued, so that the base 72 is gradually etched from the portion exposed from the second base material 123b (corner portion of the outer peripheral edge), so that near-field light generation is performed as shown in FIG. A first base portion 74 having a side surface 74a parallel to the side surface 23d of the portion 23b and a second base portion 75 having a side surface 75a on the same plane as the side surface 23d are formed via the stepped portion 78.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 14C and 16B, in the region of the third base material 123c (see FIG. 14B), the metal film base material 171 is formed from the outer peripheral edge of the third base material 123c. Exposed. Thereafter, the sputter etching is further continued, so that the metal film base material 171 is gradually etched inward from the portion exposed from the third base material 123c (the corner portion of the outer peripheral edge). Finally, the third base material 123c is completely removed, so that only the metal film base material 171 covered with the third base material 123c remains. Thereby, in the region of the third base material 123c, an extending portion 73 extending with the same width as the third base material 123c is formed. At this time, since the metal film base material 171 exposed from the third base material 123c is gradually etched inward from the corners of the outer peripheral edge, the third base material 123c in the extending portion 73 is used until the end. The covered portion remains as a protrusion 76 having a top 77.
As described above, the metal film 71 and the core 23 are collectively formed on the first cladding base material 124a (the first cladding 24a).

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line II in FIG.
Next, as shown in FIG. 17A, a light shielding film 27 is formed so as to cover the core 23 (core base material 123) (light shielding film forming step). Specifically, patterning is performed so that the light shielding film 27 remains in a region corresponding to the near-field light generation unit 23 b on the side surface 23 d of the core 23.
Then, as shown in FIG. 17B, the second cladding 24b is formed so as to cover the core 23 and the light shielding film 27 (second cladding forming step). Thereafter, the surface of the second cladding 24b is polished by CMP or the like to form a flat surface. Then, the reproducing element 22 is formed on the second cladding 24b. As a result, the recording element 21, the near-field light generating element 26, and the reproducing element 22 are formed on the substrate 120.

  Subsequently, the substrate 120 is diced along the Y direction to form a bar (not shown) in which a plurality of sliders 20 are connected along one direction (Y direction). Thereafter, the side surface (cut surface) of the diced bar is polished (polishing step). Thereby, both end surfaces in the Z direction of the near-field light generating element 26 together with the substrate 120 are formed as flat surfaces.

Thereafter, the bar is cut along the Z direction so as to have a size for each slider 20 (slider process).
Finally, a laser light source 29 is mounted on the upper surface of the slider 20. Specifically, the semiconductor laser chip 44 is disposed so that the emission-side end face of the laser light L faces downward and faces the upper end face 41 a of the trapezoidal portion 41 of the core 23.
Thus, the recording / reproducing head 2 having the above-mentioned near-field light generating element 26 is completed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the extending portion 73 extending downward from the core 23 from the base portion 72 of the metal film 71 is formed, and the protruding portion 76 having the top portion 77 is formed in the extending portion 73. .
According to this configuration, by forming the protrusion 76 in the extending portion 73, the surface plasmon excited by the base 72 of the metal film 71 propagates on the metal film 71, and the light intensity at the top 77 of the protrusion 76. Strong near-field light R. Therefore, near-field light R that is narrower than the width of the interface with the core 23 when viewed from the Z direction can be generated.
Since the information recording / reproducing apparatus 1 (recording / reproducing head 2) of the present invention includes the near-field light generating element 26 described above, information can be recorded / reproduced accurately and with high density, and the quality can be improved. Can be achieved.

  Further, by forming the light shielding film 27 so as to cover the side surface 23d of the core 23, the laser light L incident on the core 23 is reflected at the interface between the light shielding film 27 and the core 23 without leaking to the clad 24 side. Propagate while. Thereby, a laser beam can be efficiently incident on the metal film 71, and the generation efficiency of the near-field light R can be improved.

In addition, in the present embodiment, when the core 23 and the metal film 71 are patterned at once, the protrusion 76 is formed using the difference in etching rate due to the difference in the constituent materials of the core 23 and the metal film 71. It was set as the structure to form.
According to this configuration, since the metal film 71 can be formed into a fine pattern only by managing the etching time, it is not necessary to use an expensive apparatus for forming the fine pattern of the core 23 and the metal film 71. Thereby, the spot size of the near-field light R can be reduced while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost.
Also, by patterning the core 23 and the metal film 71 together, unlike the case where the core 23 and the metal film 71 are patterned in separate processes, the metal film 71 and the core 23 can be positioned with high accuracy. it can. Therefore, since the laser beam L propagated to the lower end side of the core 23 can be incident on the base portion 72 of the metal film 71 without leakage, the generation efficiency of the near-field light R can be improved.
Furthermore, by forming the protruding portion 76 in the extending portion 73 extending below the core 23, only the extending portion 73 (the protruding portion 76) is desired regardless of the shape of the core 23 and the positional accuracy with the core 23. Therefore, the manufacturing is easy and the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 18 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the front side of the recording / reproducing head in the second embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that the lower end side of the core 23 has a two-layer structure.
As shown in FIG. 18, the lower end side of the core 223 in the recording / reproducing head 202 (near-field light generating element 26) of this embodiment includes a triangular first core 223a and a first core 223a as viewed from the Z direction. And a second core 223b formed to cover the second core 223b. In this case, the first core 223a has the same configuration as the core 23 of the first embodiment described above, and the upper end side is formed flush with the upper surface of the slider 20 and is exposed to the outside. On the other hand, the lower end side of the first core 223a (near-field light generator 23b) is located above the ABS 20c of the slider 20, is covered by the clad 24, and is not exposed to the outside.

The second core 223b is formed so as to cover the first core 223a and the metal film 71 in the Y direction. Therefore, when viewed from the Z direction, the outer end portion in the Y direction of the second core 223 b is positioned outside the outer end portion of the first base portion 74. That is, the width of the entire core 223 of this embodiment in the Y direction is formed wider than the width of the first base portion 74.
The second core 223b is formed so as to cover the lower end side of the first core 223a in the Z direction, and constitutes the lower end side of the light beam condensing unit 23a and the near-field light generating unit 23b together with the first core 223a. ing. Further, the second core 223b extends downward from the lower end side of the first core 223a. Specifically, the second core 223 b extends from between the light shielding film 27 and the metal film 71 so as to cover the extending portion 73 of the metal film 71, and is formed flush with the ABS 20 c of the slider 20. Exposed outside.

  The formation region of the second core 223b is not limited to the above-described range, and may be formed so as to cover the entire first core 223a, and the lower end position is formed at the same position as the lower end position of the first core 223a. May be.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the second core 223b is manufactured between the first patterning step (see FIG. 16) and the light shielding film forming step (see FIG. 17) described above. The core base material to be the second core 223b may be patterned so as to cover the material 123) and the metal film 71. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG.

  According to this configuration, by forming the second core 223b so as to cover the first core 223a, the width of the entire core 223 (the first core 223a and the second core 223b) in the Y direction is set to the Y of the metal film 71. It can be formed wider than the width in the direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the spot size of the near-field light R while suppressing a decrease in the propagation efficiency of the laser light L propagating through the core 23. As a result, the spot size of the near-field light R can be reduced while securing the amount of light, so that the disk D can be heated more locally.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes those in which various modifications are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In other words, the configuration described in the above-described embodiment is merely an example, and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the air floating type information recording / reproducing apparatus in which the recording / reproducing head is levitated has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. The reproducing head may be in contact. That is, the recording / reproducing head of the present invention may be a contact slider type recording / reproducing head. Even in this case, the same effects can be achieved.
Moreover, you may combine each embodiment suitably.

In the first patterning process described above, the method for forming the remaining portion 60 of the core 23 has been described. However, all the cores 23 other than the formation region of the core 23 may be removed without leaving the remaining portion 60.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the core 23 is configured by the two layers of the first core 54 and the second core 55. However, the core 23 is not limited to this and may be configured by three or more layers.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the shapes of the core 23 and the metal film 71 are adjusted by the first patterning process and the second patterning process has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the metal film 71 has a desired outer shape. At that time, it is also possible to adjust the outer shape of the core 23 by etching only the core 23. This method is described in detail below.

20 and 21 are process diagrams for explaining another method of manufacturing the near-field light generating element, and are sectional views corresponding to FIG.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, similarly to the second patterning step described above, the core base material 123 and the metal film base material 171 are etched so that the metal film base material 171 has a desired width in the Y direction. It forms so that it may become. In FIG. 20, the etching is stopped when the both side surfaces in the Y direction of the core base material 123 and the both side surfaces in the Y direction of the metal film base material 171 are substantially flush with each other.
Next, as shown in FIG. 21, wet etching using hydrofluoric acid (HF) or the like is performed to etch only the core base material 123 (third patterning step). Thereby, the external shape of only the core base material 123 is reduced. In FIG. 21, the etching is continued until the third base material 123c shown in FIG. 20B is completely removed.

  According to this configuration, since the core 23 and the metal film 71 can be formed in desired shapes, the spot size of the near-field light R can be adjusted to a desired size. At this time, by controlling the etching time in the second patterning step, not only the state shown in FIG. 20 but also after forming the metal film 71 in a desired outer shape, the outer shape of only the core 23 is formed in the third patterning step. Can be adjusted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the recording / reproducing head 2 of the present invention is employed in a perpendicular magnetic recording system that applies a recording magnetic field perpendicular to the disk D has been described. You may employ | adopt for the in-plane recording system which gives a horizontal recording magnetic field.

In the near-field light generating element 26 (see FIG. 6 and the like) in the above-described embodiment, the metal film 71 is formed so as to overlap only the near-field light generating unit 23b in the core 23 in the Z direction. The formation range is not limited to this as long as at least the top 77 is exposed to the outside. For example, the metal film 71 may be formed over the entire area of the core 23 in the Z direction (light flux condensing unit 23a and near-field light generating unit 23b).
However, if the metal film 71 is also formed in the region overlapping the light beam condensing part 23a, the laser light L propagating through the light beam condensing part 23a is absorbed by the metal film 71 and lost, and the propagation efficiency of the laser light L May decrease. On the other hand, as in the embodiment described above, the metal film 71 is formed only in the region corresponding to the near-field light generation unit 23b, so that the near-field light generation unit 23b is between the core 23 and the clad 24. The laser beam L can be propagated under total reflection conditions. Therefore, more laser light L can be guided to the near-field light generation unit 23b, and the propagation efficiency of the laser light L can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information recording / reproducing apparatus 2 ... Recording / reproducing head (near-field optical head) 3 ... Beam 5 ... Actuator 6 ... Spindle motor (rotation drive part) 8 ... Control part 20 ... Slider 21 ... Recording element 23,223 ... Core 23d ... Side surface (other side surface) 23g ... Side surface (one side surface) 24 ... Cladding 24a ... First cladding 24b ... Second cladding 26 ... Near-field light generating element 27 ... Light shielding film 29 ... Laser light source (light source) 31 ... Auxiliary magnetic pole 33 ... Main Magnetic pole 71 ... Metal film (near-field light generating part) 72 ... Base 73 ... Extension part 123a ... First base material (main body part) 123b ... Second base material (main body part) 123c ... Third base material (tongue part) D ... Disk (magnetic recording medium)

Claims (5)

A core that propagates while converging the light beam introduced to one end side toward the other end side;
A clad that seals the core in close contact with the side surface of the core;
Producing a near-field light generating element, which is disposed between the core and the clad, and has a near-field light generating unit that propagates the light flux along an interface with the core and generates near-field light from the light flux. A method,
A first cladding forming step of forming a first cladding of the cladding;
A near-field light generating part forming step of forming a base material of the near-field light generating part on the first cladding;
A core forming step of forming a base material of the core so as to cover the base material of the near-field light generating unit;
Patterning the base material of the core and the base material of the near-field light generating unit to form the core and the near-field light generating unit; and
A second clad forming step of forming a second clad of the clads so as to sandwich the core with the first clad,
The patterning step includes
A first patterning step of patterning the base material of the core so that a main body portion that tapers from the one end side toward the other end side and a tongue portion extending from the main body portion to the other end side with a constant width remain; ,
The core base material patterned in the first patterning step and the base material of the near-field light generating portion are collectively etched to pattern the core base material and the near-field light generating portion of the base material. A second patterning step,
The core base material is made of a material having a higher etching rate than the base field light generating portion base material,
In the second patterning step, using the difference in etching rate between the core material of the core and the base material of the near-field light generating unit, the core material of the core and the mother of the near-field light generating unit are used. A method for producing a near-field light generating element, comprising patterning a material. In the first patterning step, patterning is performed so as to form a rectangular shape when viewed from the propagation direction of the light beam from the one end side toward the other end side,
In the second patterning step, sputter etching is performed on the base material of the core and the base material of the near-field light generating portion in plasma, and the tongue portion of the base material of the core is removed. In the near-field light generating portion in the region corresponding to the above, the extending portion extending with a constant width toward the other end side from the core, and toward the core side when viewed from the propagation direction in the extending portion The method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element according to claim 1, wherein a protruding top portion is formed. A near-field light generating element manufactured using the method for manufacturing a near-field light generating element according to claim 1 or 2,
The near-field light generator is
In a region corresponding to the main body portion, a base portion disposed on one side surface of the core along the propagation direction of the light flux from the one end side toward the other end side;
The region corresponding to the tongue includes an extending portion extending from the other end side of the base portion with a constant width from the core toward the other end side in the propagation direction. Near-field light generating element. A near-field optical head for recording information by heating a magnetic recording medium rotating in a certain direction and causing magnetization reversal by applying a recording magnetic field to the magnetic recording medium,
A slider disposed opposite to the surface of the magnetic recording medium;
A recording element having a main magnetic pole and an auxiliary magnetic pole for generating the recording magnetic field, disposed on the tip side of the slider;
The near-field light generating element according to claim 3, wherein the near-field light generating element is fixed adjacent to the recording element with the other end side facing the magnetic recording medium.
A near-field optical head, comprising: a light beam introducing unit that is fixed to the slider and introduces the light beam into the core from the one end side. A near-field optical head according to claim 4,
The near-field optical head is supported on the front end side so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium and rotatable about two axes parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium and orthogonal to each other. With the beam,
A light source for making the light beam incident on the light beam introducing means;
An actuator for supporting the base end side of the beam and moving the beam in a direction parallel to the surface of the magnetic recording medium;
A rotation drive unit for rotating the magnetic recording medium in the fixed direction;
An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls operations of the recording element and the light source.

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