Bolometer for internal laser power monitoring in heat-assisted magnetic recording device

An apparatus, comprising:

• a slider having an upper surface, a lower air-bearing surface (ABS), and an internal body extending between the upper and lower surfaces;
• a write pole at or near the ABS;
• a reader at or near the ABS and connected to a pair of reader bond pads of the slider, the reader bond pads configured to electrically bias the reader during read operations;
• a near-field transducer (NFT) formed on the slider at or near the ABS;
• an optical waveguide formed in the slider and extending from the upper surface of the slider through the internal body of the slider and to the NFT, the waveguide configured to receive light from a laser source;
• and
• a bolometer:
• situated proximal of the write pole at a location within the internal body of the slider that receives at least some of the light communicated along the waveguide;
• electrically coupled to the reader bond pads for biasing the bolometer;
• and
• configured to generate a signal indicative of output optical power of the laser source during write operations.