CA2031819A1 - Storage of information units in the nanometer range - Google Patents
Storage of information units in the nanometer rangeInfo
- Publication number
- CA2031819A1 CA2031819A1 CA002031819A CA2031819A CA2031819A1 CA 2031819 A1 CA2031819 A1 CA 2031819A1 CA 002031819 A CA002031819 A CA 002031819A CA 2031819 A CA2031819 A CA 2031819A CA 2031819 A1 CA2031819 A1 CA 2031819A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- information units
- nanometer range
- information
- storage
- scanning probe
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
- B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
- B82Y10/00—Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
- G11B5/62—Record carriers characterised by the selection of the material
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B11/00—Recording on or reproducing from the same record carrier wherein for these two operations the methods are covered by different main groups of groups G11B3/00 - G11B7/00 or by different subgroups of group G11B9/00; Record carriers therefor
- G11B11/16—Recording on or reproducing from the same record carrier wherein for these two operations the methods are covered by different main groups of groups G11B3/00 - G11B7/00 or by different subgroups of group G11B9/00; Record carriers therefor using recording by mechanical cutting, deforming or pressing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B9/00—Recording or reproducing using a method not covered by one of the main groups G11B3/00 - G11B7/00; Record carriers therefor
- G11B9/12—Recording or reproducing using a method not covered by one of the main groups G11B3/00 - G11B7/00; Record carriers therefor using near-field interactions; Record carriers therefor
- G11B9/14—Recording or reproducing using a method not covered by one of the main groups G11B3/00 - G11B7/00; Record carriers therefor using near-field interactions; Record carriers therefor using microscopic probe means, i.e. recording or reproducing by means directly associated with the tip of a microscopic electrical probe as used in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy [STM] or Atomic Force Microscopy [AFM] for inducing physical or electrical perturbations in a recording medium; Record carriers or media specially adapted for such transducing of information
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Nanotechnology (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
- Mathematical Physics (AREA)
- Semiconductor Memories (AREA)
- Measurement Of Length, Angles, Or The Like Using Electric Or Magnetic Means (AREA)
- Measuring Leads Or Probes (AREA)
- Peptides Or Proteins (AREA)
- Treatments Of Macromolecular Shaped Articles (AREA)
- Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
Abstract
O.Z. 0050/41333 Abstract of the Disclosure: A process for storing infor-mation unit in the nanometer range involves modifying the shape of the surface of a semiconducting laminate material without modifying the atomic order.
Description
2 ~
O.Z. 0~50/41333 Stora¢e~of information units in the nanometer ranae The pre~ent invention relates to a proces~ for storing informa~ion unit~ in the nanome~er range by modifying the shape of the ~urface of a ~emiconducting laminate m~terial.
The storage of information, in particular image and data signals, currently take~ place predominantly u3ing magne~ic or optical recording carriers. The infor-mation density which can be achieved using ~he latter is detarmined by the s~nallest information units which can be written and read again by the process. In conventional magnetic s~orage media, these units are determined by the si3e of ~he magnetic domains (Wei~ regions), from a mechanical pOiIlt of view by the head gap o~ the readJwrite head~ u~ed and by the distancs of the read/write unit from the actual information carriex. In information carri2rs where the ~tored information is pxoduced by a change in optical properties, the limit i~
the wavelength of ligh~ usDd. The smalle~t information 2n units here can thus not be smaller than about half the waveleng~h of the light. ~n increa~e in ~or~ge den~ity in optical recording carriers of this type has in the meantime al80 been achi ~ed ~hrough optical close-field microscopy, whera the optical read unit i only a few 2S na~ometer3 abo~e the information-carrying surface. The be~t informa~ion den~itieR achieved here are in the order of about 20 nm.
A further increase in the information density i~
only pss~ibl2 by using close-field techniques with a resolution in th~ ~ubnanometer range. Suitable me~hods for thi~ purpo~e are scanning probe techniques, including the scanning tunneling micro~cope and the atomic force micro~cope. The~e methods allow Lmaging of surface0 on an a~omic scale. It ha~ therefore been propo~ed to produce information ~torage media having the highest pos~ible denslty, namely in the range of the individual atoms or molecules. Success in developing these media would resul~
` 2~3~819 - 2 - O.Z. 0050/41333 in information densities in the terabyte/cm2 range.
A number of proposals have been made for ~oring informa ion in the nanometer region on inorganic or organic ~urfaces, including M.A. McCord et al., J.Yac~
5ci.~echnolO B4, (19B6), 86-88, R.M. Silver e~ al., Appl.Phyæ.Lett. 51 (1987), 247-249, and U. Staufer et al., J.Vac.Sci.Tachnol. A6 ~1988), 537-539. The deposi-tion of individual atoms has also been reported (R.S. Becker et al., Nature 325 (1987), 415-4213.
However, all the propo~als hitherto ~or the provi~ion of maximum-re~olution information storage media which al~o have, in particular, long-term ~tability are unsatisfactory. Whereas organic storage media are in-capablo of producin~ linQ widths <10 nm, inorganic ~ystem~, which can repro~ucQ structures down to 3 nm, are un~tabl* over relatively long periods, ie. from minute~
to hour~O In the ca~e of the stable structures in silicon which have been disclo~ed hitherto (Van Loenen et al., Appl. Phy~.hettO 55 (1989~, 1312-1314), the atomic ~truc~ure i~, by contra~t, des~.royed, ie. the atomic order i8 lost. ~ proces~ of this type i~ therefore only suitable for producing non-era~ab:Le storage media.
It is th~rafore an ob~ect of the present inven-tion to provide a proce 8 for ~torin~ information units in the nanometar range which makes it possible, in particular, to ~tore in~ormation or a long period without deskroying the local lattice structure.
We havQ ~ound ~ha~ ~hi~ objeet i3 achieved by a proce~ for the stable ~torag~ of information units in the nanometer range, in which the ~urface of a ~emi-conducting l~minate material i~ sub~ected to plastic deformation by means of a ~urface-sensitive scanning probe without modifying the atomic order.
Plastic deformation o~ the surface of the semi-conducting laminata matarial by means of a surface-~en~iti~e scanning probe without modifying the atomic order can be achievad in one embodimant according to the 2~31819 - 3 ~ O.Z. 0050/41333 invention by the action of mechanical force or by apply-ing a short-duration electrical field.
In a further embodiment, however, the information units stored in accordance with the process according to the invention in the form of a structured surface can be converked back to the original state through relaxation without modifying the atomic order by supplying energy, ie. the in~ormation i~ erased. For this purpose, the supply of thermal energy by heating the entire surface or by la~er treatmen$ of the entire surface or of poin~s is particularly ~uitable.
The proce~ according to the invention s~arts from a semiconducting layer comprising, for e~ample, WSe2 or another conYentional ~emiconducting layer based on a selenide, teluride or sulfide. The surface of a layer of this type is sub~ected to plastic de ormation by a ~urface- en~i~ive scanning probe using the close-field technique. The3e pitR, which are usually circular or oval, are produced without the atomic oxder of the layer-forming material being de~troyed. The plasticallydeformed surfac~ of the laminate material is then con-verted very rapidly back into the original unstructured form by, for example, thermal treatment, as is possible, inter alia, by IR laser bombarc~en~. The clo~e-field technique used for writing the informa~ion can be a conventional Acanning tunneling microscopy or atomic force micro~cop~ proce~ The arrangement of these close-field technique~ for characterizing surfaces is known and has been de~cribed (y. ~uk et 81., Rev.Sci.Instrum. 60(2) 3~ (1989)l 165-180).
The proce~ according ~o the invention is des-cribed in illustrati~e term~ below:
A sample o~ a tungs~en dis~lenide layer was first imaged on an atomic scale in a scanning tunneling micro-scope under high-~acuum conditions. Figure 1 show~ such an atomic arrangement of khe tungsten diselenide surface.
A defined, ~hort-duration movemen~ of the STN kip towards - 2~3~ 9 ~ 4 - O.Z. 0050/41333 the sample surface (deflection 10 nm) was then used to plastically deform the tungs~en diselenide surface. The surface defect produced in this way was then observed using the same tip. The modified surface is shown in Figure 2. ~he essential feature of thiq structured suxface is that the atomic clo~e-order of the pit has not been des~royed. The pit has a diameter of about 2.5 nm and a depth of about 7 A. This surface deformation i stable and can only be returned to the original flat shape by thermal treatmen~. The area represented in Figure 2 is about 100 A2 and provides space for four of the surface deformation~ indicated. This results in a storage density of 4 104 bits ~4-103 bytes) per ~m2, or 4-109 bytes/mm2 and 4-1011 byte3/cm2 or 4 terabits/cm2.
O.Z. 0~50/41333 Stora¢e~of information units in the nanometer ranae The pre~ent invention relates to a proces~ for storing informa~ion unit~ in the nanome~er range by modifying the shape of the ~urface of a ~emiconducting laminate m~terial.
The storage of information, in particular image and data signals, currently take~ place predominantly u3ing magne~ic or optical recording carriers. The infor-mation density which can be achieved using ~he latter is detarmined by the s~nallest information units which can be written and read again by the process. In conventional magnetic s~orage media, these units are determined by the si3e of ~he magnetic domains (Wei~ regions), from a mechanical pOiIlt of view by the head gap o~ the readJwrite head~ u~ed and by the distancs of the read/write unit from the actual information carriex. In information carri2rs where the ~tored information is pxoduced by a change in optical properties, the limit i~
the wavelength of ligh~ usDd. The smalle~t information 2n units here can thus not be smaller than about half the waveleng~h of the light. ~n increa~e in ~or~ge den~ity in optical recording carriers of this type has in the meantime al80 been achi ~ed ~hrough optical close-field microscopy, whera the optical read unit i only a few 2S na~ometer3 abo~e the information-carrying surface. The be~t informa~ion den~itieR achieved here are in the order of about 20 nm.
A further increase in the information density i~
only pss~ibl2 by using close-field techniques with a resolution in th~ ~ubnanometer range. Suitable me~hods for thi~ purpo~e are scanning probe techniques, including the scanning tunneling micro~cope and the atomic force micro~cope. The~e methods allow Lmaging of surface0 on an a~omic scale. It ha~ therefore been propo~ed to produce information ~torage media having the highest pos~ible denslty, namely in the range of the individual atoms or molecules. Success in developing these media would resul~
` 2~3~819 - 2 - O.Z. 0050/41333 in information densities in the terabyte/cm2 range.
A number of proposals have been made for ~oring informa ion in the nanometer region on inorganic or organic ~urfaces, including M.A. McCord et al., J.Yac~
5ci.~echnolO B4, (19B6), 86-88, R.M. Silver e~ al., Appl.Phyæ.Lett. 51 (1987), 247-249, and U. Staufer et al., J.Vac.Sci.Tachnol. A6 ~1988), 537-539. The deposi-tion of individual atoms has also been reported (R.S. Becker et al., Nature 325 (1987), 415-4213.
However, all the propo~als hitherto ~or the provi~ion of maximum-re~olution information storage media which al~o have, in particular, long-term ~tability are unsatisfactory. Whereas organic storage media are in-capablo of producin~ linQ widths <10 nm, inorganic ~ystem~, which can repro~ucQ structures down to 3 nm, are un~tabl* over relatively long periods, ie. from minute~
to hour~O In the ca~e of the stable structures in silicon which have been disclo~ed hitherto (Van Loenen et al., Appl. Phy~.hettO 55 (1989~, 1312-1314), the atomic ~truc~ure i~, by contra~t, des~.royed, ie. the atomic order i8 lost. ~ proces~ of this type i~ therefore only suitable for producing non-era~ab:Le storage media.
It is th~rafore an ob~ect of the present inven-tion to provide a proce 8 for ~torin~ information units in the nanometar range which makes it possible, in particular, to ~tore in~ormation or a long period without deskroying the local lattice structure.
We havQ ~ound ~ha~ ~hi~ objeet i3 achieved by a proce~ for the stable ~torag~ of information units in the nanometer range, in which the ~urface of a ~emi-conducting l~minate material i~ sub~ected to plastic deformation by means of a ~urface-sensitive scanning probe without modifying the atomic order.
Plastic deformation o~ the surface of the semi-conducting laminata matarial by means of a surface-~en~iti~e scanning probe without modifying the atomic order can be achievad in one embodimant according to the 2~31819 - 3 ~ O.Z. 0050/41333 invention by the action of mechanical force or by apply-ing a short-duration electrical field.
In a further embodiment, however, the information units stored in accordance with the process according to the invention in the form of a structured surface can be converked back to the original state through relaxation without modifying the atomic order by supplying energy, ie. the in~ormation i~ erased. For this purpose, the supply of thermal energy by heating the entire surface or by la~er treatmen$ of the entire surface or of poin~s is particularly ~uitable.
The proce~ according to the invention s~arts from a semiconducting layer comprising, for e~ample, WSe2 or another conYentional ~emiconducting layer based on a selenide, teluride or sulfide. The surface of a layer of this type is sub~ected to plastic de ormation by a ~urface- en~i~ive scanning probe using the close-field technique. The3e pitR, which are usually circular or oval, are produced without the atomic oxder of the layer-forming material being de~troyed. The plasticallydeformed surfac~ of the laminate material is then con-verted very rapidly back into the original unstructured form by, for example, thermal treatment, as is possible, inter alia, by IR laser bombarc~en~. The clo~e-field technique used for writing the informa~ion can be a conventional Acanning tunneling microscopy or atomic force micro~cop~ proce~ The arrangement of these close-field technique~ for characterizing surfaces is known and has been de~cribed (y. ~uk et 81., Rev.Sci.Instrum. 60(2) 3~ (1989)l 165-180).
The proce~ according ~o the invention is des-cribed in illustrati~e term~ below:
A sample o~ a tungs~en dis~lenide layer was first imaged on an atomic scale in a scanning tunneling micro-scope under high-~acuum conditions. Figure 1 show~ such an atomic arrangement of khe tungsten diselenide surface.
A defined, ~hort-duration movemen~ of the STN kip towards - 2~3~ 9 ~ 4 - O.Z. 0050/41333 the sample surface (deflection 10 nm) was then used to plastically deform the tungs~en diselenide surface. The surface defect produced in this way was then observed using the same tip. The modified surface is shown in Figure 2. ~he essential feature of thiq structured suxface is that the atomic clo~e-order of the pit has not been des~royed. The pit has a diameter of about 2.5 nm and a depth of about 7 A. This surface deformation i stable and can only be returned to the original flat shape by thermal treatmen~. The area represented in Figure 2 is about 100 A2 and provides space for four of the surface deformation~ indicated. This results in a storage density of 4 104 bits ~4-103 bytes) per ~m2, or 4-109 bytes/mm2 and 4-1011 byte3/cm2 or 4 terabits/cm2.
Claims (3)
1. A process for the stable storage of information units in the nanometer range, in which the surface of a semiconducting laminate material is subjected to plastic deformation by means of a surface-sensitive scanning probe without modifying the atomic order.
2. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic deformation of the surface is effected by the action of mechanical force using the surface-sensitive scanning probe.
3. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic deformation of the surface is effected by apply-ing a short-duration electrical field by means of the surface-sensitive scanning probe.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEP3943414.1 | 1989-12-30 | ||
| DE3943414A DE3943414A1 (en) | 1989-12-30 | 1989-12-30 | METHOD FOR STORING INFORMATION UNITS IN THE NANOMETER AREA |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2031819A1 true CA2031819A1 (en) | 1991-07-01 |
Family
ID=6396662
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002031819A Abandoned CA2031819A1 (en) | 1989-12-30 | 1990-12-07 | Storage of information units in the nanometer range |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0436175B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH05242685A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR910013085A (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE135843T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2031819A1 (en) |
| DE (2) | DE3943414A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE4015656A1 (en) * | 1990-05-16 | 1991-11-21 | Basf Ag | METHOD FOR THE TIMELY STABLE MARKING OF INDIVIDUAL ATOMS OR ATOMIC GROUPS OF A SOLID BODY SURFACE AND THE USE OF THIS METHOD FOR STORING INFORMATION UNITS IN THE ATOMIC AREA |
| DE4120365A1 (en) * | 1991-06-20 | 1992-12-24 | Basf Ag | METHOD FOR TARGETED MODIFICATION OF INDIVIDUAL NANOMETER AND SUBNANOMETER STRUCTURES OF A SOLID BODY SURFACE |
| US5308974B1 (en) * | 1992-11-30 | 1998-01-06 | Digital Instr Inc | Scanning probe microscope using stored data for vertical probe positioning |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4575822A (en) * | 1983-02-15 | 1986-03-11 | The Board Of Trustees Of The Leland Stanford Junior University | Method and means for data storage using tunnel current data readout |
| EP0551966B1 (en) * | 1986-12-24 | 1999-04-14 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Recording device and reproducing device |
| NL8802335A (en) * | 1988-09-21 | 1990-04-17 | Philips Nv | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A MATERIAL SURFACE ON SUB-MIKRON SCALE |
-
1989
- 1989-12-30 DE DE3943414A patent/DE3943414A1/en not_active Withdrawn
-
1990
- 1990-12-07 CA CA002031819A patent/CA2031819A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1990-12-18 AT AT90124482T patent/ATE135843T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1990-12-18 EP EP90124482A patent/EP0436175B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-12-18 DE DE59010217T patent/DE59010217D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-12-27 JP JP2415157A patent/JPH05242685A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1990-12-31 KR KR1019900023031A patent/KR910013085A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE59010217D1 (en) | 1996-04-25 |
| DE3943414A1 (en) | 1991-07-04 |
| JPH05242685A (en) | 1993-09-21 |
| KR910013085A (en) | 1991-08-08 |
| EP0436175A2 (en) | 1991-07-10 |
| ATE135843T1 (en) | 1996-04-15 |
| EP0436175B1 (en) | 1996-03-20 |
| EP0436175A3 (en) | 1992-08-12 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |