Abstract: A writer includes a magnetic write pole having a leading surface and a trailing surface and a near field transducer peg spaced from the leading surface of the write pole to provide energy assisted recording. A magnetic recording system for writing to and reading from a continuous magnetic medium includes a write element having a write element tip having a leading edge and a trailing edge, and wherein at least one surface of the write element that extends in a cross-track direction on the continuous magnetic medium has no line of symmetry.

Abstract: A write head has a pole tip, a write yoke connected to the pole tip, a write return yoke, a write shield, and one or more side shields disposed in close proximity to the pole tip. The write return yoke connects to the write yoke on one end and the write shield on a different end. The one or more side shields are separated from the pole tip and write shields by a non-magnetic material and therefore are “floating” and not directly coupled to the write shield or pole tip.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: A novel method and apparatus is provided for printing magnetic patterns using heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). The apparatus includes an array of probes that is arranged in a predetermined pattern, such as a servo pattern. The array of probes is brought into contact, or near-contact, with a magnetic recording medium that has been bulk erased substantially along an initialization direction. Each probe is energized so as to heat its respective contacted (or near-contacted) region of the recording medium above a threshold temperature. An external magnetic field is applied to the heated regions in a direction that is substantially opposite from the initialization direction. The strength of the external magnetic field is chosen to be greater than the coercivity of the recording medium at the threshold temperature, but less than the coercivity of the recording medium at room temperature. As a result, only magnetizations in the heated regions become aligned with the external field.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: A writer includes a magnetic write pole having a leading surface and a trailing surface and a near field transducer peg spaced from the leading surface of the write pole to provide energy assisted recording. A magnetic recording system for writing to and reading from a continuous magnetic medium includes a write element having a write element tip having a leading edge and a trailing edge, and wherein at least one surface of the write element that extends in a cross-track direction on the continuous magnetic medium has no line of symmetry.

Abstract: A magnetic writer comprises a write pole and a trailing shield. The write pole is proximate an air bearing surface. The trailing shield is separated from the write pole by a first write gap. The trailing shield is configured with a magnetic layer disposed between the first write gap and a second write gap.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: A magnetic writer is formed with a texture on a surface of a write pole, preferably on a surface associated with the trailing edge of the writer. This texturing results in, in effect, a magnon-magnon scattering process that increases the surface damping of the pole and thus decreases the write field rise time. Rare earth elements can also be added in amounts sufficient to further increase the damping.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing a magnetic head for a disk drive. The methods include the steps of depositing a first non-magnetic spacer layer, depositing a plating seed layer on the first non-magnetic spacer layer and plating at least one side shield and a pole tip layer on the plating seed layer, each of the at least one side shield and the pole tip layer separated by a trench. Then the method includes depositing a first non-magnetic material in the trench using ion-beam assisted deposition and planarizing using a chemical-mechanical polishing step.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: A master is provided for use in a magnetic printing process. Illustratively, the master is used for printing servo patterns on a magnetic recording medium. The master includes a substrate on which a magnetic underlayer material is disposed. A second magnetic material is disposed over the magnetic underlayer material so as to form a plurality of teeth adapted for use in the magnetic printing process. The teeth may be formed in the second material by an additive or subtractive process. Further, the dimensions of the teeth may be selected to optimize use of the master in a magnetic printing process on perpendicular media.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a patterned recording medium includes providing a workpiece with a non-magnetic substrate and at least one overlying magnetic layer, laminating a thermal insulation barrier partially in a soft under layer of one of the at least one magnetic layers and forming a topographical pattern including a plurality of trenches in the soft under layer. Blocks of track triplets are formed between adjacent trenches that are magnetically and thermally insulated from other adjacent blocks of track triplets.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for preconditioning a magnetic recording disk is provided in which two substantially identical, but opposing, pancake coils are disposed generally parallel to one another with a gap therebetween into which a disk to be preconditioned is inserted. A large pulse of current is delivered to the coils to generate a magnetic field that is sufficiently strong to precondition the disk. The radial fields of each respective pancake coil add together in the gap where the disk is located, and the field presets both the data layer and the hard bias layer of the SUL. Outside of the gap region, the fields cancel one another such that there are essentially no perpendicular fields due to the symmetry of the coils, such that there is very little net residual perpendicular magnetization when the disk is removed from the gap. An electrical circuit for producing the current pulse is provided. An aluminum support structure provides thermal management and magnetic flux conductivity for the system.

Abstract: A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.

Abstract: An apparatus having a write head for writing data on to a recording medium comprises a recording disk medium and one or more ferromagnetic islands. The recording disk medium has a data layer in discrete tracks with trenches between the discrete tracks, and a soft underlayer beneath the data layer and the trenches. The one or more ferromagnetic islands are disposed in the trenches between the discrete tracks in the recording disk medium and over the soft underlayer. The one or more ferromagnetic islands comprise a first layer having a first magnetization direction and a second layer having a second magnetization direction that is different than the first magnetization direction.

Abstract: A magnetic writer comprises a surface, a write pole, a trailing shield and a gap. The write pole has a write pole tip proximate the surface. The trailing shield is proximate the surface and space away from the write pole. The gap is proximate the surface and located between the write pole tip and the trailing shield. The gap has an effective thickness. The gap comprises a first write gap and a synthesized low magnetization shield. The synthesized low magnetization shield is configured such that a magnetization of the synthesized magnetization shield adjacent the surface has a perpendicular component in an opposite direction to the magnetization of the write pole tip during a write operation.

Abstract: A system for reducing spike noise in a perpendicular recording medium having a soft underlayer is provided. The system radially biases the soft underlayer to substantially eliminate domain walls therein. In a first embodiment of the system, a permanent magnetic bias ring is disposed generally adjacent to the soft underlayer and a magnetic circuit is formed between the magnetic ring and the soft underlayer. Other embodiments include a concentric stationary magnetic flux return disk to extend the radial distance of the flux path. In alternative embodiments, a ferromagnetic spindle assembly is modified to produce a radiation pattern that has a net radial exterior field that biases the adjacent soft underlayer of the medium. The entire assembly can be shielded from external magnetic fields in the disk drive. Further, the shielding may operate as part of the magnetic circuit.

Abstract: A head of a disk drive comprises a read element, a top read shield, a bottom read shield, a stray field shield, and an exchange decoupling layer. The read element allows for reading magnetic fields from a recording medium. The top read shield, the bottom read shield, and the stray field shield allow for at least partially shielding the read element from stray magnetic fields. The exchange decoupling layer allows for at least partially providing exchange decoupling of the stray field shield and the bottom read shield. The read element is located at least partially between the top read shield and the bottom read shield. The bottom read shield is located at least partially between the stray field shield and the top read shield, and the exchange decoupling layer is located at least partially between the stray field shield and the bottom read shield.