Articles including a near field transducer and at least one waveguide

Abstract

Systems that include an energy source configured to provide transverse electric (TE) mode energy; a channel waveguide configured to receive energy from the energy source, the channel waveguide having at least one mirror plane; and a near field transducer (NFT) configured to receive energy from the channel waveguide, the NFT having at least one mirror plane.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 an energy source configured to provide transverse electric (TE) mode energy;   a channel waveguide configured to receive energy from the energy source, the channel waveguide having at least one mirror plane; and   a near field transducer (NFT) configured to receive energy from the channel waveguide, the NFT having at least one mirror plane.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the mirror plane of the channel waveguide and the mirror plane of the NFT are aligned. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the channel waveguide and the NFT are both symmetric and are aligned with each other. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the channel waveguide transmits at least a first higher order TE mode of the energy from the energy source. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy source is an edge-emitting laser (EEL). 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1  further comprising a second channel waveguide. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 6 , wherein the first and second channel waveguide are positioned adjacent each other in a first direction and the NFT is positioned adjacent the first and second channel waveguides in a second direction, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the first. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the first and second waveguides independently have modes, and a symmetric mode of the first waveguide is at least close to that of an anti-symmetric mode of the second waveguide. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the second waveguide has a mirror plane and the mirror plane of the first waveguide is substantially aligned with the mirror plane of the second waveguide. 
     
     
         10 . A system comprising:
 an energy source configured to provide transverse electric (TE) mode energy;   a waveguide assembly, the waveguide assembly comprising a first waveguide and a second waveguide, the waveguide assembly configured to receive energy from the energy source, wherein the energy is initially received in the first waveguide of the waveguide assembly; and   a near field transducer (NFT) configured to receive energy from the waveguide assembly.   
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 10 , wherein the first and second channel waveguide are positioned adjacent each other in a first direction and the NFT is positioned adjacent the first and second channel waveguides in a second direction, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the first. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the first and second waveguides independently have widths in the direction along with they are adjacent each other, and the second waveguide is wider than the first waveguide. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the first waveguide is from about 0.3 micrometers to about 1.5 micrometers. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 10 , wherein the first and second waveguide are separated by at least about 0.3 micrometers or greater. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 10 , wherein the first and second waveguide are separated by not more than about 0.6 micrometers. 
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the first waveguide has a width of about 0.4 micrometers, the second waveguide has a width of about 0.9 micrometers and the first and second waveguide are separated by about 0.3 micrometers. 
     
     
         17 . A system comprising:
 an energy source configured to provide transverse electric (TE) mode energy;   a waveguide assembly, the waveguide assembly comprising a first tapered waveguide and a second waveguide, the waveguide assembly configured to receive energy from the energy source, wherein the energy is initially received in the first waveguide of the waveguide assembly; and   a near field transducer (NFT) configured to receive energy from the waveguide assembly.   
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 17 , wherein the tapered first waveguide has a top section, a tapered section, and a bottom section. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein the top section can have a length from about 50 micrometers to about 150 micrometers, the bottom section can have a length from about 50 micrometers to about 150 micrometers, and the tapered section can have a length from about 25 micrometers to about 400 micrometers. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein the top section can have width from about 0.4 micrometers to about 0.5 micrometers and the bottom section can have a width from about 0.3 micrometers to about 0.4 micrometers.