IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Processing at the Nanoscale Monday Sessions
       Session PN-MoM

Invited Paper PN-MoM1
The "Millipede" - More than 1000 Tips for parallel and dense AFM Data Storage

Monday, October 29, 2001, 9:40 am, Room 133

Session: Atomic/Nano-scale Manipulation
Presenter: T. Albrecht, IBM Almaden Research Center
Authors: P. Vettiger, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
G. Cross, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
M. Despont, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
U. Drechsler, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
U. Dürig, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
W. Häberle, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
M.I. Lutwyche, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
H.E. Rothuizen, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
R. Stutz, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
R. Widmer, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
G.K. Binnig, IBM Research, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
T. Albrecht, IBM Almaden Research Center
Correspondent: Click to Email
A MEMS-based AFM-array concept ("Millipede") for data storage of potentially ultrahigh density, terabit capacity, and high data rate is presented. Its storage potential has been demonstrated by a new thermomechanical local-probe technique to store, read-back and erase data in very thin polymer films. With this new technique, 30- to 40-nm-sized bit indentations of similar pitch size were made by a single cantilever/tip in a 50-nm-thin PMMA layer, resulting in a data storage density of 400-500 Gb/in.@super 2@. High data rates are achieved by parallel operation of large 2D AFM arrays batch-fabricated by silicon surface-micromachining techniques. The VLSI of micro/nanomechanical devices (cantilevers/tips) on a single chip leads to the largest and densest 2D array of 32x32 (1024) AFM cantilevers with integrated write/read storage functionality ever built. Time-multiplexed electronics control the write/read storage cycles for parallel operation of the Millipede array chip. Initial areal densities of 100-200 Gb/in.@super 2@ have been achieved with the 32x32 array chip, which has potential for further improvements.@footnote 1@ This constitutes a major step towards future ultra-dense data storage with potential capacities beyond today's storage approaches. The Millipede concept focuses on a polymer storage media, but may be expanded to other media, and not excluding magnetics, provided suitable read/write functionality can be integrated into cantilevers and tips. We also envision that Millipede may open up new perspectives in nanoscale science and technology areas such as lithography, high-speed/large-scale imaging, molecular and atomic manipulation, biotechnology and many others. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@P. Vettiger et al., IBM J. Res. Develop. 44, 323 (2000); M. I. Lutwyche et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 3299 (2000).