JPH11213420A - Information recording and reproducing head, and information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an information recording and reproducing head and an information recording and reproducing device capable of recording information at high density and capable of reproducing information which are recorded at high density with a high (satisfactory) signal-to-noise ratio. SOLUTION: This information recording and reproducing device 10 is constituted of a slider 11 which is placed on the recording surface 2a of the upper surface of a rotating magneto-optical disk 2 and which is positioned by being floated from the recording surface of the upper surface of an air bearing. Moreover, a solid-state immersion lens 12 for forming the converged spot of a recording light on the recording surface 2a of the upper surface is provided at a position close to the recording surface 2a of the upper surface of the magneto- optical disk 2 and, furthermore, a magneto-resistive element 20 for reproducing recorded information is provided at the top end of the slider 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information optically and magnetically, and an information recording / reproducing head used in the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in an apparatus or system for optically recording or reproducing information, particularly in a magneto-optical recording and reproducing apparatus or system, a solid immersion lens (also referred to as a solid immersion lens or a SIL) has been developed in order to improve the recording density. A recording method has been proposed in which the effective numerical aperture of the optical system is increased to 1 or more by using the same. For example, an experimental example of mounting a solid immersion lens on the flying head of a magneto-optical disk was reported by BDTerris et al.
d Physics Letter 68 (2), 141-143 (1996). FIG. 13 shows a tip portion of the head. This head 90 has a solid immersion lens 92 mounted on a slider 91 that floats by an air bearing, and a solid immersion lens 9.
An objective lens 93 for converging and entering a light beam to the solid immersion lens 92 is arranged on the upper part of the lens 2.

In such a configuration, the distance between the solid immersion lens 92 and the recording medium 95 is determined by the balance between the slider structure and its load, and the buoyancy generated by the air bearing generated by the rotation of the recording medium, and is always constant. Therefore, the focus servo mechanism is unnecessary. In addition, in the case of this configuration, since the light beam spot can be narrowed down by the solid immersion lens as compared with the case where the light beam is simply converged only by the objective lens, high-density recording is possible.

In such a magneto-optical recording system,
Information is recorded using the so-called photo-thermomagnetic effect, in which the medium recording layer is irradiated with a strong laser beam in the form of a small spot, the medium temperature at this irradiation point is raised above the Curie point, and the magnetization is reversed by an external magnetic field. I have. When reproducing (reading) information, a weak laser spot light whose oscillating surface is aligned in a fixed direction is applied to the recording layer, and the oscillating surface of the reflected light rotates slightly according to the magnetization state of the recording layer. We use effects.

[0005]

In the above-described magneto-optical recording system, high-density information recording using a solid immersion lens is possible. In the case of reproduction, there is a problem that it is difficult to detect a minute rotation of the vibration surface of the reflected light, and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) is likely to be deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and enables high-density recording of information, and reproduces such high-density recorded information with a high (good) signal-to-noise ratio. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording / reproducing head and an information recording / reproducing device which can perform the information recording / reproducing.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an information recording / reproducing head according to the present invention comprises a recording surface of an information recording medium (for example, a magneto-optical disk) which moves in a plane (for example, the upper surface of a disk). Or a slider which is placed on the recording surface of the information recording medium at a position close to the recording surface of the information recording medium in the slider. A solid immersion lens for forming a condensed light spot is disposed, and a magnetoresistive element or a giant magnetoresistive element is disposed on the slider so as to face the recording surface of the information recording medium.

When recording and reproducing information on an information recording medium using the information recording / reproducing head having such a configuration, the information recording medium (for example, a magneto-optical disk) is moved in a plane (for example, a rotational motion). In this state, the information recording / reproducing head is supported, for example, at the tip of a head arm via a suspension device, and the slider is placed on the recording surface of the information recording medium. At this time, the slider floats while maintaining a certain distance from the recording surface of the information recording medium due to an air bearing effect generated by the relative movement between the slider and the information recording medium. In this state, when the recording light is converged and irradiated from outside to the solid immersion lens, a condensed spot is formed on the recording surface of the information recording medium, and information is recorded by heating using the condensed spot and an external magnetic field. Incidentally, it is preferable to provide the slider with the objective lens for condensing the recording light on the solid immersion lens.

The size of the condensed spot formed through the solid immersion lens in this way is 1 / n when the refractive index of the solid immersion lens is n, which is 1 / n as compared with the case without the solid immersion lens. Information can be recorded with a small focused spot, and high-density recording with an extremely narrow track pitch is possible. Since the slider always floats at a certain distance by the air bearing, the focused spot can be always formed on the recording surface of the information recording medium without using a focusing mechanism.

On the other hand, reproduction of information recorded in such a high density is performed by a magnetoresistive element or a giant magnetoresistive element provided on a slider. This magnetoresistive element or giant magnetoresistive element reproduces information by using the fact that the direction of magnetization in the element changes due to the magnetic field from the medium. The change in the value is read and detected, and has a feature that the signal-to-noise ratio is greatly improved as compared with the conventional information reproduction using the magnetic Kerr effect. Also, the magnetoresistive element or the giant magnetoresistive element can be formed very small, and can be formed integrally with the slider to reduce the size, thickness and weight of the information recording / reproducing head. It is possible.

It is preferable that the information recording / reproducing head is provided with an optical mirror for guiding recording light to a solid immersion lens or an objective lens, whereby an optical path system for guiding external recording light to the solid immersion lens is provided. Becomes simple. At this time, the optical mirror can be provided on the slider. Further, the optical mirror can be configured by adding a reflective film to the optical prism.

In the slider constituting the information recording / reproducing head according to the present invention, the portion forming the optical path of the recording light which is condensed by the solid immersion lens and forms a condensed spot on the recording surface of the information recording medium is formed by the recording light. It is necessary to have optical transparency to For this reason, this part of the slider may be formed as an air gap or formed of a transparent material.

In the information recording / reproducing head according to the present invention, a coil-shaped conductive wiring is provided at a position facing the information recording medium in the slider, and the magnetic field of the information recording medium can be modulated by the conductive wiring. It is preferable that the recording be overwritten.

An information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is constituted by using the information recording / reproducing head according to the present invention as described above, and has a medium drive mechanism (for example, in the embodiment, which holds an information recording medium and moves in a plane). A spindle motor 1) for rotating the magneto-optical disk 2, a head arm for holding the information recording / reproducing head, and a head arm for moving the information recording / reproducing head in a direction intersecting the plane movement direction of the information recording medium. (For example, the voice coil motor 3 in the embodiment). A plurality of information recording media may be held by a medium drive mechanism. In this case, a plurality of information recording / reproducing heads are provided corresponding to each information recording medium to constitute an information recording / reproducing apparatus. You.

According to this information recording / reproducing apparatus, high-density information recording is possible by controlling the tracking movement by the head arm while forming a condensed spot on the information recording medium by the solid immersion lens provided on the slider. And
Further, it is possible to easily and reliably reproduce the information recorded in such a high density with a high signal-to-noise ratio by using a magnetoresistive element or a giant magnetoresistive element while performing tracking movement control by a head arm. Yes,
High-density data can be reproduced in a short access time.
In addition, since the information recording / reproducing head can be reduced in size, weight, and thickness, a small and large-capacity information recording / reproducing apparatus can be configured.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an information recording / reproducing apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention. This apparatus is located close to an upper surface recording surface 2a of a magneto-optical disk 2 driven to rotate by a spindle motor 1. And a head arm 4 for holding the information recording / reproducing head 10 and a voice coil motor 3 for rotating the head arm 4.

The information recording / reproducing head 10 includes a slider 11
The slider 11 is located above the upper recording surface 2a of the rotating magneto-optical disk 2, and floats by a certain minute distance from the upper recording surface 2a by an air bearing effect (that is, the slider 11 constitutes a flying head). Do). In the information recording / reproducing head 10, the slider 1
1, a circular tapered space 11a extending upward is formed, and a solid immersion lens 12 is disposed in the space 11a. A recording light irradiating device (not shown) is provided, whereby the recording laser light is converged and irradiated on the solid immersion lens 12 as shown by a dashed arrow in FIG. Upper recording surface 2 of magnetic disk 2
A focal spot of the recording laser beam is formed at a.

The head arm 4 includes a voice coil motor 3
A rotating shaft 4a which is connected to and is rotationally driven;
an arm 4b extending horizontally from the upper end of the arm 4a;
and a suspension portion 4c that supports the information recording / reproducing head 10 at the tip of the head b so as to allow vertical movement. Rotary shaft 4 by voice coil motor 3
When a is rotated, the arm portion 4b swings horizontally, and the information recording / reproducing head 10 is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation direction of the magneto-optical disk 2 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2).
And the information recording / reproducing head 10 is scanned on the upper recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2. That is, tracking control is performed by the voice coil motor 3.

At the tip of the slider 11 of the information recording / reproducing head 10, a magnetoresistive element (MR element) 20 used for reproducing information recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2 is provided.
Is mounted as a reproducing head. This magnetoresistive element 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of only the magnetoresistive element 20 taken out, and FIG.
As can be clearly understood from FIG. 5, the MR sensor 26 having a three-layer structure and the two electrodes 27 and 28 provided thereon are covered with upper and lower magnetic shields 21 and 22. The MR sensor 26 includes an MR film 23, an intermediate film 24,
The SAL film 25 for applying a bias magnetic field is formed in three layers as shown in FIG. The MR film 23 has Ni
The SAL film 25 was formed using a NiFeRo alloy using an Fe alloy.

The operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, the magneto-optical disk 2 is rotated at a predetermined speed by the spindle motor 1. At this time, the information recording / reproducing head 10 supported on the suspension portion 4c of the head arm 4 and disposed on the upper recording surface 2a of the disk 2
In the state, the slider 11 floats by a minute distance from the upper recording surface 2a due to the air bearing effect. In this state, a recording laser beam is converged and irradiated to the solid immersion lens 12 from a recording light irradiation device (not shown), and a condensed spot is formed on the upper recording surface 2 a of the magneto-optical disk 2.
Here, the magneto-optical disk 2 is driven at a constant speed.
The flying height of the slider 1 is always constant, and the flying height is set so that the condensed spot focuses on the recording surface on the upper recording surface. For this reason, it is possible to always form a converging spot on the upper recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2, and it is not necessary to provide a focusing mechanism as in the related art.

When recording information with the condensed spot light thus formed, first, the condensed spot is heated to a temperature higher than the Curie temperature by a laser beam applied thereto, and an apparatus for applying an external magnetic field is used. The information recording is performed by changing the magnetism of the lever portion (reversing the magnetization). Since this is already well known, a device for applying an external magnetic field is not shown, and the operation description thereof is omitted.
Such information recording is performed by moving (scanning) the information recording / reproducing head 10 in the radial direction of the magneto-optical disk 2 in accordance with the rotation of the magneto-optical disk 2. Scanning or tracking is performed by rotating the head arm 4 by the voice coil motor 3 arranged at the root of the head arm 4.

On the other hand, reproduction of the information recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2 in this manner is performed by the magneto-resistance effect element 20. In this reproduction, a sense current as shown by an arrow C in FIG.
This is carried out in a state where the magnetic flux from the magneto-optical disk 2 is applied to the MR film 23, and the magnetization of the MR film 23 is rotated to change its electric resistance. Reproduction of information is performed by detecting a change in the sense current caused by such a change in the electric resistance. However, a bias magnetic field is applied by the SAL film 25 to increase the reproduction output and reproduce a signal having a high signal-to-noise ratio. Is performed. Note that the MR film 23, the intermediate film 24, and the SAL film 25 constituting the MR sensor 26 each have a thickness of several Å, and as can be seen from this,
The magnetoresistive element 20 can be made very small.

Next, an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The apparatus includes an information recording / reproducing head 30 located close to an upper surface recording surface 2a of a magneto-optical disk 2 driven to rotate by a spindle motor 1, a head arm 14 for holding the information recording / reproducing head 30, Voice coil motor 3 for rotating this head arm 14
And a recording light irradiation device 5 for irradiating a recording / reproducing laser beam.

The information recording / reproducing head 30 has a slider 31
The slider 31 is located above the upper recording surface 2a of the rotating magneto-optical disk 2, and floats by a certain minute distance from the upper recording surface 2a due to the air bearing effect (that is, constitutes a flying head). Do). The head arm 14 includes a rotating shaft 14a that is connected to the voice coil motor 3 and is driven to rotate.
An arm 14b extends horizontally from the upper end of the arm 14a, and a suspension 14c supports the information recording / reproducing head 30 on the lower surface of the intermediate portion of the arm 14b so as to allow vertical movement. When the rotary shaft 14a is rotationally driven by the voice coil motor 3, the arm portion 14b is swung horizontally, and the information recording / reproducing head 30 is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation direction of the magneto-optical disk 2 (arrow A in FIG. Direction) to move the information recording / reproducing head 30
Is scanned on the upper recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2, that is, tracking control is performed.

In the information recording / reproducing head 30, a circular tapered space 31a extending upward is formed in the slider 31, a solid immersion lens 32 is provided below the space 31a, and an objective lens 33 is provided above the space 31a. Have been. Here, the arm portion 14b of the head arm 14 is
3 has a reflecting surface 14d inclined at an angle of 45 °, and a high reflecting film 15 is provided on the reflecting surface 14d. The space 11a may be filled with a transparent or light-transmitting material.

The arm portion 14b is made of a hollow or transparent material, and the inside of the arm portion 14b is provided with a laser beam for recording.
It is transmissible as shown at 2. Also, the arm portion 14b
As shown in FIG. 7, a reflecting mirror 6 is provided at the root of the recording laser beam from the recording light irradiating device 5 as indicated by an arrow R1.
The light is radiated to the reflection mirror 6 as shown by, is reflected as shown by an arrow R2, passes through the inside of the arm portion 14b, and is reflected by a reflection surface 14d having the high reflection film 15 as shown by an arrow R3. The recording laser light reflected in this manner is converged by the objective lens 33 and is incident on the solid immersion lens 32 to form a focused spot on the upper recording surface 2 a of the magneto-optical disk 2.

At the tip of the slider 31 of the information recording / reproducing head 30, a giant magnetoresistive element (GMR element) 40 used for reproducing information recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2 is mounted as a reproducing head. The giant magnetoresistive element 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows only the giant magnetoresistive element 40 taken out and enlarged, and as can be clearly understood from FIGS.
An MR sensor 47 and two electrodes 48 provided thereon,
49 are covered by upper and lower magnetic shields 41 and 42. The GMR sensor 47 is formed by stacking an antiferromagnetic film 43, a first magnetic film 44, a nonmagnetic film 45, and a second magnetic film 46 in four layers as shown in FIG. I have. The antiferromagnetic film 43 has FeM
n, and the first magnetic film 44 and the second magnetic film 46 are N
iFe was used, and the nonmagnetic film 45 was formed using Cu.

The operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, the magneto-optical disk 2 is rotated at a predetermined speed by the spindle motor 1, and the information recording / reproducing head 30 supported on the suspension portion 14c of the head arm 14 and disposed on the upper recording surface 2a of the disk 2 is moved by the air bearing effect. As a result, a state in which it floats by a very small distance from the upper recording surface 2a. In this state, the recording laser light emitted from the recording light irradiation device 5 is reflected along the optical path indicated by the dashed lines R1, R2, and R3, converged by the objective lens 33, irradiated to the solid immersion lens 32, and Disc 2
Is formed on the upper recording surface 2a. Here, the magneto-optical disk 2 is driven at a constant speed, and the flying height of the slider 31 is always constant, and the flying height is set so that the condensed spot focuses on the upper recording surface. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a focusing mechanism.

Recording of information by the thus formed condensed spot light is performed by using the photothermomagnetic effect, as in the case of the first embodiment. Thereby, the first
High-density information recording is performed as in the case of the device of the embodiment.

On the other hand, the reproduction of the information recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2 is performed by the giant magnetoresistive element 40. This reproduction is performed in a state where a voltage is applied between the two electrodes 48 and 49 and a sense current as shown by an arrow C in FIG. This is performed by utilizing the magnetoresistance effect that the magnetization of 47 rotates and its electric resistance changes.

The change in the electric resistance of the GMR sensor 47 specifically occurs as follows. Since the first magnetic film 44 is in contact with the antiferromagnetic film 43, the magnetization of the first magnetic film 44 is fixed. On the other hand, the magnetization of the second magnetic film 46 is rotated by an external magnetic field from the medium (magneto-optical disk). Therefore, when receiving an external magnetic field, the first and second magnetic films 4
The direction of magnetization of 4, 46 changes from parallel to anti-parallel. Here, when the magnetization directions of these two magnetic films 44 and 46 are the same (parallel), the magnetic scattering of the flowing electrons is small and the electric resistance is small. On the other hand, when the magnetization directions of the magnetic films 44 and 46 are different (antiparallel), the magnetic scattering of the flowing electrons increases and the electric resistance also increases. The change in the electric resistance in this case is larger than that of the magnetoresistive element 20 used in the first embodiment, and when the giant magnetoresistive element 40 is used, the signal-to-noise ratio is further improved to reproduce information. Becomes possible.

Next, an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The apparatus includes an information recording / reproducing head 60 located close to the upper surface recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2 rotated and driven by the spindle motor 1, a head arm 54 for holding the information recording / reproducing head 60, A voice coil motor 3 for rotating the head arm 54 and a recording light irradiating device (not shown) for irradiating a recording / reproducing laser beam.
And is configured.

The information recording / reproducing head 60 includes a slider 61
The slider 61 is located above the upper recording surface 2a of the rotating magneto-optical disk 2, and floats by a certain minute distance from the upper recording surface 2a by an air bearing effect. The head arm 54 includes a rotating shaft 54a connected to the voice coil motor 3 and driven to rotate, an arm 54b extending horizontally from the upper end of the rotating shaft 54a, and an information recording / reproducing head 60 at the tip of the arm 54b.
And a suspension portion 54c that supports the device so as to allow vertical movement. Voice coil motor 3
, The head arm 54 is driven to rotate, and the tracking control of the information recording / reproducing head 60 is performed.

In the information recording / reproducing head 60, a circular tapered space 61a extending upward is formed in the slider 61, a solid immersion lens 62 is provided below the space 61a, and an objective lens 63 is provided above the space 61a. Have been. A microprism 65 is provided on the slider 61 via a spacer 64, and a highly reflective film 6
6 are provided. A not-shown recording laser beam is incident on the microprism 65 as shown by a dashed line R4, is reflected on a reflection surface 65a and is irradiated as shown by a dashed line R5, is converged by the objective lens 63, and is converged on the solid immersion lens 62. The light is incident and forms a focused spot on the upper recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2. The slider 61
Is made of a light transmissive material (transparent material).
It is not necessary to form a.

At the tip of the slider 61 of the information recording / reproducing head 60, a giant magnetoresistive element (GMR) used for reproducing information recorded on the magneto-optical disk 2 is provided.
An element 40 is mounted as a reproducing head. The giant magnetoresistive element 40 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, and the description of the structure is omitted.

Further, in the information recording / reproducing head 60, a micro coil 67 provided with a coil-shaped conductive wiring 68 as shown in FIG.
Is embedded. By energizing the wiring 68, magnetic field modulation is performed on a portion of the upper recording surface 2a of the magneto-optical disk 2 where the microcoil 67 opposes, and overwriting of recording can be performed.

The information recording / reproducing operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus having the above-described configuration is the same as that of the above-described second embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to this embodiment includes an optical component such as a solid immersion lens 62, an objective lens 63, and a micro prism 65, a micro coil 67 for overwriting, and a huge By mounting the magnetoresistive effect element 40 on the slider 61 and integrating it,
The entire information recording / reproducing head can be reduced in size, thickness, and weight.

In the above embodiment, the voice coil motor, which is a rotary actuator, is used for the rotation control of the head arm. However, the rotation of the head arm may be performed by a linear actuator. . Further, with the information recording / reproducing head configuration according to the present invention as shown in the above embodiments, the entire information recording / reproducing head can be reduced in size, thickness, and weight. For this reason,
The information recording / reproducing heads may be stacked and arranged in the same housing to form a multiplatter, compact information recording / reproducing apparatus having a plurality of magneto-optical disks and information recording / reproducing heads.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A solid immersion lens for forming a condensing spot of recording light on the recording surface of the information recording medium, and a slider immersed in the slider floating above the recording surface of the information recording medium moving in a plane by an air bearing, or a magnetoresistive element or A giant magnetoresistive element is provided to configure the information recording / reproducing head, which makes it possible to reduce the size, thickness, and weight of the head, as well as high-density information recording using a solid immersion lens, It is possible to reproduce information with a good (high) signal-to-noise ratio using a magnetoresistive element or a giant magnetoresistive element.

As described above, since the information recording / reproducing head of the present invention is small, thin, and lightweight, the tracking control of the head is easy, and ultra-high-density data can be reproduced in a short access time. Further, a multi-platter type information recording / reproducing apparatus having a plurality of sets of recording media and heads can be configured to obtain a small and large-capacity information recording / reproducing apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a magnetoresistive element constituting the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetoresistive element taken along arrows IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the magnetoresistive element along an arrow VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a magnetoresistive element constituting the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the magnetoresistive effect element taken along an arrow IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows this magnetoresistive effect element as indicated by arrows XX in FIG.
It is sectional drawing shown along.

FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing a configuration of a microcoil provided on a bottom surface of a slider constituting an information recording / reproducing head of the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of a conventional information recording / reproducing head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Spindle motor 2 Magneto-optical disk 4, 14, 54 Head arm 10, 30, 60 Information recording / reproducing head 12, 32, 62 Solid immersion lens 20 Magnetoresistive element 33, 63 Objective lens 40 Giant magnetoresistance element 65 Microprism

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G11B 11/10 586 G11B 11/10 586A

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A slider which is placed on a recording surface of an information recording medium which moves in a plane and floats from the recording surface by an air bearing, and is disposed at a position of the slider which is close to the recording surface of the information recording medium. A solid immersion lens for forming a focused spot of recording light on the recording surface of the information recording medium; and a magnetoresistive element or giant magnetoresistance disposed on the slider facing the recording surface of the information recording medium. An information recording / reproducing head comprising an effect element. 2. The information recording / reproducing head according to claim 1, wherein an objective lens for focusing the recording light on the solid immersion lens is provided on the slider. 3. The information recording / reproducing head according to claim 1, further comprising an optical mirror for guiding the recording light to the solid immersion lens or the objective lens. 4. The information recording / reproducing head according to claim 3, wherein the optical mirror is provided on the slider. 5. The information recording / reproducing head according to claim 3, wherein the optical mirror is formed by applying a reflection film to an optical prism. 6. The information recording / reproducing head according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the slider forming an optical path of the recording light has a light transmitting property with respect to the recording light. . 7. A coil-shaped conductive wiring is provided at a position of the slider facing the information recording medium,
7. A magnetic field modulation of the information recording medium by the conductive wiring.
An information recording / reproducing head according to any one of the above. 8. A medium drive mechanism for holding an information recording medium and moving it in a plane, the information recording / reproducing head according to claim 1, a head arm for holding the information recording / reproducing head, An information recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising: an arm driving mechanism for driving the head arm so as to move the information recording / reproducing head in a direction intersecting with a plane movement direction of the information recording medium. 9. The information recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of information recording media are held by the medium driving mechanism, and a plurality of the information recording / reproducing heads are provided corresponding to each of the information recording media. Playback device.