Optical storage systems with flying optical heads for near-field recording and reading

• US 6,243,350 B1
• Filed: 04/29/1997
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TeraStor Corporation
• Original Assignee: TeraStor Corporation
• Inventors: Knight, Gordon R., Al-Samarrie, John, Blankenbeckler, David, Bonn, Brian, Burroughs, Alan, Dalziel, Warren, Hajjar, Roger, Jain, Amit, Ma, Guolin, Tremaine, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Tan
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHU, KIM KWOK
• Application Number:
  US08/846,916
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 369/44.15, 369/44.14, 369/112, 369/44.16, 369/44.23, 369/44.24, 369/118, 359/358, 359/819, 359/664, 359/808, 250/358.1, 356/345, 356/301
• US Class Current: 369/126
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10532 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10534 for recording by magnetising, demagnetising or transfer of magnetisation, by radiation, e.g. for thermomagnetic recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10543 using optical beam of radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10554 the transducers being disposed on the same side of the carrier flying heads G11B11/1058
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/1058 Flying heads
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10584 characterised by the form, e.g. comprising mechanical protection elements
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 11/10586 characterised by the selection of the material
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 13/045 combined recording by magnetic and optic means
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2005/0021 Thermally assisted recording using an auxiliary energy source for heating the recording layer locally to assist the magnetization reversal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2007/0013 for carriers having multiple discrete layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2007/13727 Compound lenses, i.e. two or more lenses co-operating to perform a function, e.g. compound objective lens including a solid immersion lens, positive and negative lenses either bonded together or with adjustable spacing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/0308 Shutters G11B23/0317 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/0316 Constructional details, e.g. shape
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/505 of disk carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/0416 for disc cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/14 Reducing influence of physical parameters, e.g. temperature change, moisture, dust
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08564 using galvanomirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08576 Swinging-arm positioners
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08582 Sled-type positioners
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/122 : Flying-type heads, e.g. analogous to Winchester type in magnetic recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1359 : Single prisms
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1362 : Mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1365 : Separate or integrated refractive elements, e.g. wave plates
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1372 : Lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1374 : Objective lenses optical objectives per se G02B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1387 : using the near-field effect
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/14 : specially adapted to record on, or to reproduce from, more than one track simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/22 : Apparatus or processes for the manufacture of optical heads, e.g. assembly
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 : Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007

Abstract

Optical storage systems based on air-bearing-suspended optical heads in a near-field configuration. Such a system comprises an optical head for reading and writing data and a head positioning system, an optics module including beam relay optics and signal detectors, and a medium holding and loading module to hold an optical medium. An electronic control system is also provided to control the system operation. The optical head includes a near-field lens with a high index of refraction and in a near-field configuration in which the near-field lens has a numerical aperture greater than unity when the spacing between an exit facet of the optical head and a recording layer in the optical medium is a fraction of one wavelength of optical beam.

Claims