Heat-assisted magnetic recording head with near-field transducer having first and second surface-plasmonic plates

A write head comprising:

• a waveguide core;
• a magnetic pole;
• and
• a near-field transducer comprising stacked and partially overlapping first and second plasmonic plates between the waveguide core and the magnetic pole, the first surface-plasmonic plate facing the magnetic pole and the second plasmonic plate facing the waveguide core, the first plasmonic plate recessed further from a media-facing surface of the write head than a lower edge of the second plasmonic plate, the first surface-plasmonic plate formed of a first material having lower-loss in plasmonic coupling than a second material used to form the second surface plasmonic plate, the second surface-plasmonic plate comprising a peg that extends from the lower edge, an upper edge of the second surface-plasmonic plate slanted at an angle relative to the waveguide core.

A method comprising:

• coupling light into a waveguide core that delivers the light proximate to a media-facing surface of a write head;
• coupling the light from the waveguide to a first surface-plasmonic plate proximate a magnetic pole and recessed from the media-facing surface of the write head, the light generating surface-plasmon polaritons on a bottom surface of the first surface-plasmonic plate, the bottom surface facing away from the magnetic pole and towards the waveguide core, the first surface-plasmonic plate being formed of a first material having lower-loss in plasmonic coupling than a second material, the second material being more mechanically robust than the first material;
• and
• couple the surface-plasmon polaritons from the bottom surface of the first surface-plasmonic plate to a second surface-plasmonic plate formed of the second material and located on the bottom surface of the first surface-plasmonic plate, a lower edge of the second surface-plasmonic plate extending closer to the media-facing surface than the first surface-plasmonic plate and having a peg that extends from the lower edge and directs the surface-plasmon polaritons out of the media-facing surface towards a recording medium.