Abstract: A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) writer is described. The HAMR writer includes a laser, a polarization rotation plate and a HAMR transducer. The laser provides energy having a first polarization state. The polarization rotation is plate optically coupled with the laser and changes the first polarization state to a second polarization state. The transducer has an ABS, a waveguide, a main pole, at least one coil and a near-field transducer (NFT). The polarization rotation plate is between the transducer and the laser. The waveguide is optically coupled with the laser through the polarization rotation plate and directs the energy from the polarization rotation plate toward the ABS. The NFT focuses the energy onto a media. The NFT is optically coupled with the waveguide and receives energy having a third polarization state. The main pole writes to the media and is energized by the coil(s).

Abstract: Provided are an optical pickup device and an optical disk drive including the same. The optical pickup device includes a quarter-wave plate (QWP) that is disposed parallel to an objective lens and a reflection mirror that reflects a beam back onto the QWP after the beam passed through the QWP. The optical pickup device also includes a polarization mirror that is disposed between the objective lens and the QWP, and which reflects the beam which is generated from a light source onto the QWP, and allows the beam reflected by the reflection mirror to pass through to the objective lens.

Abstract: An optical system capable of obtaining a high-resolution image using interference and thus capable of providing a stable signal is realized. A particular polarization state of response light emitted from an object is selected, and light in the selected particular polarization state is split into two beams. The split two beams are polarized into two different polarization states. After one of the two beams is subjected to an image inversion, the two beams are condensed such that they interfere with each other. The interfering light is split into a plurality of beams, and each of these beams is detected after they are passed through different polarizing filters. Detected signals are combined together and processed to obtain high-stability amplitude information without being influenced by a phase difference between the two beams.

Abstract: Implementations disclosed herein allow a magneto-optical polarization rotator to couple light from a light source of a HAMR recording device to waveguide attached to a slider. According to one implementation, the magneto-optical polarization rotator has a magnetophotonic crystal structure with a number of thin film layers configured to rotate the light by 90 degrees.

Abstract: An approach for aligning a light source on a slider involves filtering light emerging from the air bearing surface of a (ABS) of a heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) slider. A first portion of the emerging light is emitted by a near field transducer in response to optical excitation and has a component having a first polarization state. A second portion of the emerging light including stray light has polarization states different from the first polarization state. The polarizing filter substantially transmits light having the first polarization state and substantially rejects light having a polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state. Alignment coordinates for the light source are determined based on the light transmitted through the polarizing filter.

Abstract: A polarization converter of the invention includes a core part that wave-guides an electromagnetic wave and a cladding part that is provided around the core part. The core part includes a conversion part converting a polarization state of the electromagnetic wave. A cross-sectional shape of the conversion part in a plane orthogonal to a propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave is a shape formed by cutting off a portion of a rectangular or square shape along a jagged diagonal line.

Abstract: A waveguide structure with a light polarization rotator section for converting transverse electric light from a TE light source to transverse magnetic light which is subsequently coupled to a plasmon generator (PG) is disclosed. Wavelengths above 800 nm are advantageously used to reduce resistive heating in the PG, and in adjacent cladding and write pole layers to improve the thermally assisted magnetic recording head lifetime. The light polarization rotator section has a length determined by TE LD light wavelength, and the effective mode index of the two orthogonal fundamental modes, and has curved portions to enable a greater length to accommodate longer TE light wavelengths without increasing the waveguide distance between the air bearing surface and back end of the device.

Abstract: A near field transducer includes gold and at least one dopant. The dopant can include at least one of: Cu, Rh, Ru, Ag, Ta, Cr, Al, Zr, V, Pd, Ir, Co, W, Ti, Mg, Fe, or Mo. The dopant concentration may be in a range from 0.5% and 30%. The dopant can be a nanoparticle oxide of V, Zr, Mg, Ca, Al, Ti, Si, Ce, Y, Ta, W, or Th, or a nitride of Ta, Al, Ti, Si, In, Fe, Zr, Cu, W or B.

Abstract: A method provides an EAMR transducer. A sacrificial post is provided on an NFT distal from the ABS. This post has an edge proximate and substantially parallel to the ABS. A sacrificial mask is provided on the NFT between the post and the ABS. Optical material(s) are provided. The post is between the optical material(s) and the ABS. The post is removed. A heat sink post corresponding to the post is provided. The heat sink post has a bottom thermally coupled with the NFT and an edge proximate and substantially parallel to the ABS. Part of the heat sink post is removed, forming a heat sink having a top surface at an acute angle from the ABS. Nonmagnetic material(s) are provided on the optical material(s). A pole having a bottom surface thermally coupled with the heat sink and coil(s) are provided.

Abstract: An optical element and an information storage device including the same. The optical element may include an optical waveguide structure for transforming circularly polarized light into plasmon and transmitting the plasmon. The optical waveguide structure may emit a circularly polarized plasmonic field. The optical element may be used in an information storage device. For example, the information storage device may include a recording medium and a recording element for recording information on the recording medium, and the recording element may include the optical element. The information may be recorded on the recording medium by using the circularly polarized plasmonic field generated by the optical element.

Abstract: A magneto-optical transducer including a magnetic layer on a transparent, non-magnetic substrate is used to characterize the performance of a write head based on optically detected magnetization in the magnetic layer. The write head sample is held in contact with or near the magnetic layer, which is illuminated through the substrate with linearly polarized light. Magnetization in the write head produces a magnetization in the magnetic layer, which alters the polarization state in reflected light. The reflected light is analyzed and the intensity detected using an optical detector, such as one or more photo-detectors or a camera. The performance of the write head can then be characterized using the detected intensity.

Abstract: In a particular embodiment, an optical transducer includes at least three optically conductive blades arranged symmetrically about a center gap. The optical transducer is adapted to receive polarized light from a light source and to focus the polarized light onto a recording medium while conserving polarization of the polarized light.

Abstract: A slider system have been developed to aid in the spacing between read/write heads and the storage medium, and a grating antenna amplifier has been developed to improve illumination spot size and polarization characteristics. The grating antenna can be attached to a grayscale slider to obtain a distance between the illumination spot and antenna that lies in the near field region.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical device which includes a first laser diode, a beam splitter, a first objective lens, a photo-detector, a second laser diode, a wedged plate beam splitter, a second objective lens and a collimator. The present invention deploys two independent transmitting paths. The retrieving paths share the beam splitter and the photo-detector commonly at the returning route.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method and apparatus for reducing the effective spot size of a laser beam by selectively polarizing different regions of a light beam. By suitably dividing a beam into a plurality of regions and suitably changing the polarization of the regions in different directions, certain regions with opposite polarization cancel each other out, thereby effectively eliminating these regions from analysis by the detector. When focusing onto a high density optical disk, adjacent tracks do not see the canceled, circularly-polarized portions of the beam, but instead, only see the smaller, plane-polarized portion in the center of the beam. When reading from a high density optical disk, detectors using a known differential detection scheme similarly do not see the canceled, circularly-polarized portions of the beam, but instead, only see the smaller, plane-polarized portion in the center of the beam.

Abstract: An optical recording medium is capable of linear recording in a photon mode. An organic material changed in molecular orientation on light illumination to exhibit birefringence is used as a recording material. For example, a recording layer having, as a recording material, an organic material changed in molecular orientation caused by trans-cis rearrangement, is changed in birefringence with changes in the molecular orientation of the organic material. The recording system which utilizes the changes in the molecular orientation of the organic material has linear characteristics and gives outputs different depending on e.g., the degree or the angle of orientation, thus enabling multi-valued recording.