Plasmon Generator with Metallic Waveguide Blocker for TAMR and a Method of its Fabrication

A method for forming a TAMR head, comprising:

• providing a magnetic write head having a main write pole and a heat sink layer formed on a leading edge side of said main write pole;
• depositing a first layer of metal on a horizontal surface of said heat sink layer;
• forming a tapered surface on said first layer of metal;
• depositing a first layer of dielectric on said tapered surface, then;
• depositing a second layer of dielectric on said first layer of dielectric wherein said second layer will form the core of a waveguide;
• planarizing said dielectric layers to remove excess dielectric material;
• depositing a metal mask on said planarized surface and patterning said mask using a patterned photoresist followed by an ion-beam etch (IBE) to define a waveguide shape;
• forming a waveguide using said patterned metal mask to guide a reactive-ion etch (RIE);
• planarizing said waveguide using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and using a dry etch to remove remnants of metal mask and then depositing a side cladding layer.