Method for manufacturing thermally-assisted magnetic recording head by semi-active alignment

A method for manufacturing a thermally-assisted magnetic recording head in which a light source unit and a slider are joined to each other, the light source unit including a light source that is provided in a source-installation surface adjacent to a joining surface of a unit substrate and has a surface including a light-emission center on the joining surface side, the slider including an optical system that is provided on an element-integration surface adjacent to an opposed-to-medium surface of a slider substrate and has a light-receiving end surface reaching a back surface opposite to the opposed-to-medium surface, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

• causing a light to enter the light source from a surface opposite to the surface including the light-emission center of the light source while the joining surface of the light source unit is opposed to the back surface of the slider;
• detecting the light that has passed through the light source and is emitted from the light-emission center to align the light-emission center of the light source unit with the light-receiving end surface of the slider;
• and
• bonding the light source unit to the slider in such a way that the bonding surface and the back surface face to each other.