A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write apparatus is described. The HAMR write apparatus is coupled with a laser that provides energy. The HAMR writer has a media-facing surface (MFS) and a laser-facing surface. The HAMR write apparatus includes a free-standing reflector and at least one waveguide. The free-standing reflector resides on the laser-facing surface and has a concave reflective surface oriented to receive the energy from the laser. The waveguide(s) are optically coupled with the free-standing reflector and direct energy from the laser toward the MFS.

In one embodiment, a system includes a wafer and a plurality of contact pads positioned on the wafer. Each contact pad includes a multi-layer stud and a cap layer. The multi-layer stud includes at least a bottom layer and a top layer, the bottom layer being positioned on and extending from an upper surface of the wafer substantially in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the wafer, and the top layer being positioned above the bottom layer and substantially extending in the direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the wafer. The cap layer is positioned on the top layer of the multi-layer stud and extends beyond sidewalls of the multi-layer stud substantially in a direction parallel to the upper surface of the wafer. The bottom layer has a larger cross-sectional area than any layer of the multi-layer stud positioned thereabove.

Methods that include depositing a first layer over the entire surface of a structure, the structure having a magnetic reader and a magnetic writer, wherein the magnetic reader and the magnetic writer are positioned adjacent to each other on a substrate and the magnetic writer includes a near field transducer (NFT); depositing a second layer over the entire surface of the first layer; depositing a photoresist material layer over the entire surface of the second layer, the photoresist material layer having a bottom surface in contact with the second layer and an opposing top surface; exposing the photoresist material layer to radiation through the bottom surface of the photoresist material layer via the NFT to form a first exposed region; and exposing the photoresist material layer to radiation through the top surface of the photoresist material layer to form a second exposed region.