Design of Optical Flying Head for Near-Field Recording

Abstract

The Optical Flying Head (OFH) was designed and fabricated for implementation of the Near-Field Recording (NFR) technology. The optimum structure of the head for integration with the optical parts has been developed. Also, the basic flying characteristics and optical performance of the OFH mounted with high NA optics were tested and evaluated. Contact-Start-Stop (CSS) tests were performed to assess the flyability of the OFH. It was found that the OFH developed for NFR could fly above the disk media at a flying height of less than 100 nm. The flying performance of the OFH was adequate to demonstrate the feasibility of the NFR technology.