Opto-Thermal Simulation of Metallic Smear's Impact on Hamr Technology

• Published in: 2021 IEEE 32nd Magnetic Recording Conference (TMRC) pp. 1 - 2
• Main Authors: Smith, Robert, Rajauria, Sukumar, Brockie, Richard, Schreck, Erhard, Dai, Qing
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Heat-assisted magnetic recording; Optical propagation; Optical recording; Perpendicular magnetic recording; Plasmons; Stimulated emission; Transducers
• DOI: 10.1109/TMRC53175.2021.9605106

Contamination, known as smear, in the head-disk interface poses a significant reliability challenge for heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology. While smear in perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) can induce head-disk spacing instability, light at the HAMR interface produces additional adverse effects on both head reliability and recording quality. Previous studies have demonstrated that optically absorbing smear, such as organic carbonaceous material, is particularly harmful since the heat dissipated at the interface raises the temperature of the near-field transducer (NFT), thereby compromising its reliability [1] , [2] . Due to the optical nature of the HAMR interface, the accumulation of metallic smear also presents a significant challenge. Metallic interface materials not only absorb light that is emitted from the NFT, but they can also redirect the path of the propagating plasmon generated at the surface of the NFT. This ability to perturb the near-field coupling to the medium has significant implications for the stability of the HAMR recording process. Thus, both the NFT reliability and recording impact must be investigated to determine the ramifications of metallic smear in HAMR. In this work, we utilize opto-thermal simulation to uncover metallic smear's impact on HAMR reliability and recording performance.