The "millipede" - nanotechnology entering data storage

Present a new scanning-probe-based data-storage concept called the "millipede" that combines ultrahigh density, terabit capacity, small form factor, and high data rate. Ultrahigh storage density 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, nanometer-sized bit indentations and pitch sizes have been made by a single cantilever/tip into thin polymer layers, resulting in a data storage densities of up to 1 Tb/in/sup 2/. High data rates are achieved by parallel operation of large two-dimensional (2-D) atomic force microscope (AFM) arrays that have been batch-fabricated by silicon surface-micromachining…