Patents Assigned to Hitachi Globa Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
  • Patent number: 8164988
    Abstract: A perpendicular magnetic recording system uses bit-patterned media (BPM) and circularly polarized light to switch the magnetization of the discrete magnetic bits by the inverse Faraday effect. Circularly polarized light generates an external rotating electric field in a plane orthogonal to the light propagation direction, which induces a magnetic field parallel to the light propagation direction in a magnetic material exposed to the electric field. The BPM is a generally planar substrate with discrete spaced-apart metal or metal alloy magnetic islands that are magnetizable in a perpendicular direction and are separated by nonmagnetic spaces of non-metallic material on the substrate. A near-field metal transducer is patterned into at least three tips, with the tips surrounding and defining a transducer active region. The circularly polarized light is incident on the tips, which produce a strong in-plane rotating electric field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi Globa Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventor: Barry Cushing Stipe