Thermally-assisted magnetic recording head having inclined main magnetic pole and core

A thermally-assisted magnetic recording head comprising:

• a medium facing surface configured to face a recording medium;
• a main pole for producing a write magnetic field for use to write data on the recording medium;
• a waveguide including a core through which light propagates, and a cladding provided around the core;
• and
• a plasmon generator including a near-field light generating section located in the medium facing surface, wherein
• the plasmon generator is configured so that a surface plasmon is excited on the plasmon generator based on the light propagating through the core, and the near-field light generating section generates near-field light based on the surface plasmon,
• the main pole and the core are located on a same side in a direction of travel of the recording medium relative to the plasmon generator,
• the main pole has a first end face located in the medium facing surface, and a second end face located opposite to the first end face,
• the core has a front end face opposed to the second end face of the main pole,
• the cladding includes an interposition section interposed between the front end face of the core and the second end face of the main pole,
• the front end face of the core is inclined with respect to the medium facing surface such that a distance from the medium facing surface to any point on the front end face decreases with decreasing distance from the point on the front end face to the plasmon generator, and
• the second end face of the main pole is inclined with respect to the medium facing surface such that a distance from the medium facing surface to any point on the second end face decreases with decreasing distance from the point on the second end face to the plasmon generator.