A heat assisted magnetic recording head with a multilayer electromagnetic (EM) radiation emission structure. The multilayer EM radiation emission structure is in optical communication with a light source for heating a recording medium. Particularly, the multilayer EM radiation emission structure includes a conducting layer for receiving the light source and a protective layer formed adjacent the conducting layer to protect the conducting layer from contact with a recording medium. An aperture extends through the conducting layer in the protective layer to allow the light source to pass therethrough to heat the recording medium.