Provided herein is an apparatus including a substrate and a magnetic recording layer over the substrate. In addition, a thermochromic layer is over the substrate, wherein the thermochromic layer includes a first optical absorbance at a first temperature and a second optical absorbance at a second temperature.

The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic recording drive comprising a write head disposed over a media. The write head comprises a main pole, a waveguide disposed adjacent to the main pole, a near field transducer (NFT) coupled between the main pole and the waveguide at a media facing surface (MFS) and a head overcoat disposed on the MFS, the head overcoat comprising SiN. The head overcoat has an extinction coefficient (k) value of about 0.0. The media comprises a media overcoat disposed adjacent to the head overcoat. The media overcoat comprises a first layer of C and a second layer of SiN disposed on the first layer. The media overcoat has a k-value of about 0.5 or greater. The head overcoat is transparent while the media overcoat is heat absorbent.