Method and system for an energy assisted magnetic recording head having a suspension-mounted laser

An energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• a suspension,
• a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the slider being mounted to the suspension on the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• and
• at least one laser coupled with the suspension and having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension, the at least one laser providing energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the at least one laser and writing to the media using the energy;
• wherein the laser is a laser diode including an N-side and a P-side opposite to the N-side.

An energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• a suspension,
• a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the slider being mounted to the suspension on the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• and
• at least one laser coupled with the suspension and having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension, the at least one laser providing energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the at least one laser and writing to the media using the energy;
• at least one waveguide optically coupled with the at least one laser, the at least one waveguide including at least one tapered portion and at least one bending portion, the at least one tapered portion for focusing the energy, the at least one tapered portion including a waveguide optic axis substantially parallel to the laser-facing surface of the slider, the at least one bending portion optically coupled with the at least one tapered portion and for redirecting the energy;
• wherein the at least one bending portion redirects the energy by at least one hundred twenty and not more than one hundred ninety degrees.

An energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• a suspension,
• a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the slider being mounted to the suspension by the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider, the EAMR transducer including a waveguide having at least one tapered portion and at least one bending portion optically coupled with the at least one tapered portion, the at least one tapered portion for focusing energy and including a waveguide optic axis substantially parallel to the laser-facing surface of the slider, the at least one bending portion for redirecting the energy;
• and
• at least one laser having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, an N-side, a P-side, and mounting surface joining the N-side and the P-side, the at least one laser being mounted to the suspension by the mounting surface, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension and at a nonzero angle from a perpendicular to the laser-facing surface of the slider, the at least one laser providing the energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the laser and writing to the media using the energy.

A method for providing an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• providing a suspension,
• providing a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• providing at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• mounting the back side of the slider on the suspension;
• and
• coupling at least one laser with the suspension, the at least one laser having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension, each of the at least one laser providing energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the at least one laser and writing to the media using the energy;
• wherein the at least one laser is oriented such that the optic axis is at a nonzero angle from a perpendicular to the laser-facing surface.

A method for providing an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• providing a suspension,
• providing a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• providing at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• mounting the back side of the slider on the suspension;
• and
• coupling at least one laser with the suspension, the at least one laser having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension, each of the at least one laser providing energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the at least one laser and writing to the media using the energy;
• wherein each of the at least one laser is a laser diode including an N-side and a P-side opposite to the N-side.

A method for providing an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) disk drive comprising:

• providing a suspension,
• providing a slider having a back side, a laser-facing surface, and an air-bearing surface (ABS) opposite the back side, the laser-facing surface being substantially perpendicular to the suspension;
• providing at least one EAMR transducer coupled with the slider, at least a portion of the EAMR transducer residing in proximity to the ABS and on the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• providing at least one waveguide optically coupled with the laser, the step of providing the at least one waveguide further includes:
• providing at least one tapered portion for focusing the energy, the at least one tapered portion including a waveguide optic axis substantially parallel to the laser-facing surface of the slider;
• and
• providing at least one bending portion optically coupled with the at least one tapered portion, the at least one bending portion for redirecting the energy by at least thirty and not more than one hundred twenty degrees
• mounting the back side of the slider on the suspension;
• and
• coupling at least one laser with the suspension, the at least one laser having a light emitting surface facing the laser-facing surface of the slider, each of the at least one laser having an optic axis substantially parallel to the suspension, each of the at least one laser providing energy substantially along the optic axis and being optically coupled with the EAMR transducer via free space, the at least one EAMR transducer receiving the energy from the at least one laser and writing to the media using the energy
• wherein the at least one bending portion redirects the energy by at least one hundred twenty and not more than one hundred ninety degrees.