Semiconductor wafer patterned with thermally-assisted recording (TAR) head structures

摘要

A semiconductor wafer has a plurality of patterned thermally-assisted recording (TAR) head structures. Each TAR head structure includes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). The semiconductor substrate serves as an extended cavity for the VCSEL. Each TAR head structure also includes a conventional read head and write head, and an optical waveguide with a grating coupler and a near-field transducer (NFT).