Patterned medium for heat assisted magnetic recording

Heat assisted magnetic recording HAMR is a potential solution to extend the limits of conventional magnetic recording. In HAMR, the heating of the recording medium is achieved with a near-field optical transducer. Although the literature suggests novel transducers, there is little consideration of the optical and thermal aspects of the magnetic medium. In this letter we suggest a recording medium that provides a significant enhancement in optical absorption and localized heating. The thermal profiles of the proposed medium and the conventional medium are compared using finite element method solutions of Maxwell’s and the heat transfer equations. © 2009 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.3073049