Heat-assisted magnetic recording head constituted of slider and light source unit, and manufacturing method of the head

A manufacturing method of a heat-assisted magnetic recording head in which a light source unit including:

• a unit substrate having a joining surface;
• and a light source which is provided on a source-installation surface of said unit substrate and whose surface including an light-emission center is positioned on the joining surface side, is joined to a slider, said slider including:
• a slider substrate having an opposed-to-medium surface;
• and
• a head part formed on an element-integration surface of said slider substrate, said head part including:
• a write head element for writing data on a magnetic recording medium;
• and a waveguide for guiding an incident light to the opposed-to-medium surface side, and an end of said waveguide on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface reaching an end surface of said head part on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface, the end of said waveguide having an incident center;
• the manufacturing method comprising the steps of:
• providing a step or a sloping portion in the end surface of said head part on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface, said step or said sloping portion being set so that a distance from said incident center of said waveguide to an edge of said step or said sloping portion on the element-integration surface side is substantially equal to a distance from said light-emission center of said light source to an end surface of said light source on the opposite side to the source-installation surface;
• and
• moving said light source unit and said slider relatively to each other while keeping the joining surface of said unit substrate in surface contact with an end surface of said slider substrate on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface, and setting relative positions of said light source unit and said slider in a direction perpendicular to the element-integration surface to be positions in which the edge of said step or said sloping portion on the element-integration surface side coincides with, or is at a distance within an acceptable range from, an edge of the surface including said light-emission center of said light source.

A slider for heat-assisted magnetic recording, said slider constituting a heat-assisted magnetic recording head by joining a light source unit including a light source provided on a source-installation surface of a unit substrate having a joining surface to an end surface of said slider on the opposite side to an opposed-to-medium surface of said slider, said slider comprising:

• a slider substrate having the opposed-to-medium surface;
• and
• a head part formed on an element-integration surface of said slider substrate, said head part including:
• a write head element for writing data on a magnetic recording medium;
• and a waveguide for guiding an incident light to the opposed-to-medium surface side, an end of said waveguide on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface having an incident center;
• a step or a sloping portion being provided on an end surface of said head part on the opposite side to the opposed-to-medium surface, and a distance from said incident center of said waveguide to an edge of said step or sloping portion on the element-integration surface side being substantially equal to a distance from said light-emission center of said light source to an end surface of said light source on the opposite side to the source-installation surface.