Waveguide For Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording

An apparatus comprising:

• a slider mounted on an arm;
• a first waveguide including a first core guiding layer;
• a second waveguide mounted on the slider and including a second core guiding layer having a uniform thickness smaller than the thickness of the first core guiding layer;
• and
• a coupler for coupling light from the first core guiding layer to the second core guiding layer, wherein the first core guiding layer is curved to direct the light onto the coupler.

An apparatus comprising:

• a slider mounted on an arm;
• a first waveguide including a first core guiding layer;
• and
• a second waveguide mounted on the slider and including a second core guiding layer, wherein portions of the first core guiding layer and the second core guiding layer are positioned adjacent to each other such that light in the first core guiding layer is evanescently coupled to the second core guiding layer.

An apparatus comprising:

• a slider mounted on an arm;
• a first waveguide supported by the arm;
• a second waveguide mounted on the slider;
• and
• a first polymer pillar coupler for coupling light from the first waveguide to the second waveguide.