US 6,982,844 B2
Optical aperture for data recording having transmission enhanced by surface plasmon resonance
Charles T. Rettner, San Jose, Calif. (US); and Barry C. Stipe, San Jose, Calif. (US)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US)
Filed on Dec. 18, 2001, as Appl. No. 10/26,029.
Prior Publication US 2003/0112542 A1, Jun. 19, 2003
Int. Cl. G11B 5/02 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 360—59 50 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
41. A method, comprising:
directing input optical radiation onto metallic features of a structure, wherein the features have a spatial configuration selected to increase optical transmission from an emission region in the structure beyond what the optical transmission from the emission region would be in the absence of the features; and
directing output optical radiation emanating from the emission region onto a recording medium, in order to heat the recording medium and thereby assist in the recording of data in the recording medium, wherein the optical transmission from the emission region is higher as a result of at least one surface plasmon mode generated by said directing of input optical radiation onto the features.