A magnetic head including a media heating device that is fabricated within the magnetic head structure. The media heating device is fabricated with diffusion barrier layers and/or adhesion layers beneath the heating device layers, between heating device layers and/or above the heating device layers. A diffusion barrier layer prevents the diffusion of the metal materials that comprise the heating device layers into layers that are disposed below and/or above the heating device, and adhesion layer promotes adhesion of the heating device to the magnetic head layers adjacent to the heating device. The diffusion barrier layer may be comprised of tantalum, tantalum nitride, other tantalum alloys, titanium, rhodium and ruthenium, and the adhesion layer may be comprised of tantalum, tantalum nitride, tantalum oxide, other tantalum alloys, titanium, nickel iron, chromium, platinum alloys, nickel alloys and aluminum oxide.