Characterization of near field transducers
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- a near field transducer (NFT) subassembly including an input coupler proximate a first surface and an NFT optical antenna proximate a second surface;
an excitation light source configured to provide excitation radiation to the near field transducer subassembly;
an optical filter configured to substantially pass a portion of photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT optical antenna in response to the excitation radiation and to substantially block the excitation radiation;
a detector configured to detect the portion of photoluminescent radiation and to output an output signal in response to detection of the portion of photoluminescent radiation;
a focusing lens configured to focus the excitation radiation onto the input coupler of the NFT subassembly; and
an objective lens configured to collect photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT toward the optical filter.
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Abstract
An approach for characterizing an optical near field transducer (NFT) involves providing excitation radiation to the NFT. The NFT emits photoluminescent radiation in response to the excitation radiation. The output radiation from the NFT is filtered so that a portion of the photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT passes through the filter and the excitation radiation is substantially blocked. A detector detects the portion of photoluminescent radiation and outputs an electrical signal in response to detection of the portion of photoluminescent radiation.
32 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a near field transducer (NFT) subassembly including an input coupler proximate a first surface and an NFT optical antenna proximate a second surface; an excitation light source configured to provide excitation radiation to the near field transducer subassembly; an optical filter configured to substantially pass a portion of photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT optical antenna in response to the excitation radiation and to substantially block the excitation radiation; a detector configured to detect the portion of photoluminescent radiation and to output an output signal in response to detection of the portion of photoluminescent radiation; a focusing lens configured to focus the excitation radiation onto the input coupler of the NFT subassembly; and an objective lens configured to collect photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT toward the optical filter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system comprising:
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an excitation light source configured to provide excitation radiation to a near field transducer (NFT) subassembly including an NFT optical antenna; an optical filter configured to substantially pass a portion of photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT optical antenna in response to the excitation radiation and to substantially block the excitation radiation; a detector configured to detect the portion of photoluminescent radiation and to output an output signal in response to detection of the portion of photoluminescent radiation; and a monitoring subsystem configured to monitor the excitation radiation. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A method, comprising:
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providing excitation radiation to a near field transducer (NFT) subassembly; filtering output radiation from the NFT subassembly, the filtering comprising passing a portion of photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT subassembly in response to the excitation radiation and substantially blocking the excitation radiation transmitted by the NFT subassembly; and detecting the portion of photoluminescent radiation and generating an output signal in response to the detecting, wherein filtering the output radiation comprises filtering using one or more of a shortwave pass optical filter and a dichroic beam splitter. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method, comprising:
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providing excitation radiation to a near field transducer (NFT) subassembly; filtering output radiation from the NFT subassembly, the filtering comprising passing a portion of photoluminescent radiation emitted by the NFT subassembly in response to the excitation radiation and substantially blocking the excitation radiation transmitted by the NFT subassembly; detecting the portion of photoluminescent radiation and generating an output signal in response to the detecting; and signal processing the output signal including amplifying the output signal using circuitry that locks into a repetition rate of the excitation radiation.
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Specification