JPH04157639A - Information recording carrier and information processing using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent deteriorations of characteristics, damage, adherence of dusts of an information processing probe, a recording medium, and to obtain an information recording carrier having high reliability of recording/reproducing by sealing the probe, the medium and liquid of high viscosity in a frame. CONSTITUTION:An information recording carrier 20 inserted into a processor body 21 contains at least one probe electrode 22 together with a recording medium 23 in a frame 24 to be detachable with respect to the body 21. Here, a probe, a recording medium and liquid of high viscosity are sealed in the frame 24. Accordingly, the carrier 20 holds the probe and the medium in a sealed state, and external vibration is attenuated by the liquid of high viscosity. Thus, deteriorations of characteristics, damage, adherence of dusts of the probe, the medium can be prevented, and the carrier 20 having high reliability of recording/reproducing is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an information record carrier and an information processing device using the same.

[Prior Art] In recent years, a scanning tunneling microscope (hereinafter referred to as STM) that can directly observe the electronic structure on and near the surface of a material has been developed [G.
c-a Physica Acta, 55,726 (1
982)], it has become possible to observe real space images with high resolution regardless of whether it is single crystal or amorphous, and it also has the advantage of being able to perform measurements with low power without causing almost any damage to the sample material due to the electric current. It operates not only in ultra-high vacuum, but also in the atmosphere and in solutions, and can be applied to a variety of materials, so it is expected to have a wide range of applications.

STM utilizes the phenomenon that a tunnel current is generated when a voltage is applied between a metal probe and a conductive sample and the sample is brought close to a distance of about 1 nm. Recently, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-161552, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 63-161553
As disclosed in the above publication, many proposals have been made to apply this STM principle to configure information processing apparatuses mainly for ultra-high-density recording and playback. In other words, information is recorded by applying physical deformation to a recording medium (corresponding to a sample) using a probe electrode corresponding to an STM probe, or by changing the electronic state of the medium surface, and recording bits are created by a tunnel current flowing between the two. It is said that by using this method of reproducing information, it is possible to record and reproduce large-scale information at a high density on the order of molecules or atoms.

Among the above recording methods, to give physical deformation,
In addition to pressing a sharp recording probe against a recording medium to create a dent, it has recently been reported that holes can be formed on a recording medium such as graphite by applying a pulse voltage. That is, by bringing the probe electrode close to the surface of the recording medium and applying a voltage between the two with a pulse width of 3 to 8 μs and a pulse width of 1 to 100 μs, a hole with a diameter of 40 degrees or less can be formed and the recording medium can be recorded. It can be fully used as a bit. - On the other hand, in order to perform recording by changing the electronic state, a cumulative film of appropriate organic molecules is created on the base electrode by the Langmuir-Prodgett method (hereinafter referred to as LB method), and the base electrode 1i and the probe electrode are A method of changing the electrical resistance characteristics of this minute portion by applying a voltage between them is known, and is attracting attention because it is easy to erase and rewrite.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a conventional information recording carrier that performs recording by changing the electronic state and an information processing device using the same. A recording medium 4 having a switching memory effect is mounted, and a probe electrode 6 attached to a three-dimensional drive mechanism 5 is provided facing the recording medium 4. First, a microcomputer 7 and a coarse motion control circuit 8 are provided. By driving the coarse movement mechanism 1, the probe 1 is roughly aligned with the pole 6 and the recording medium 4. When recording,
When the three-dimensional drive mechanism 5 is driven by the Y-scan drive circuit 9 to scan the probe electrode 6 on the recording medium 4, and a pulse voltage is applied between the probe electrode 6 and the base electrode 3 by the voltage application device 10 at the recording position, Recording is performed by creating regions on the recording medium 4 that have locally different electrical resistances.

During reproduction, the probe electrode 6 is scanned over the surface of the recording medium 4 while applying a constant voltage that causes a tunnel current to flow between the probe electrode 6 and the recording medium 4 . The tunnel current obtained at that time is amplified and detected by the current amplifier 11, and the servo circuit 12
The probe electrode 6 is moved vertically by driving the three-dimensional drive mechanism 5, and the amount of vertical movement corresponds to recorded information. Note that all these controls are performed by the microcomputer 7.

In this way, in order to utilize tunnel current, it is necessary to place the probe electrode 6 and the recording medium 4 close to each other by about 1 nm, and the probe electrode 6 and the recording medium 4 must be processed with high precision.
Manufacturing technology is required.

[Problem 8 to be solved by the invention] However, in conventional information recording carriers and information processing devices using the same, the surfaces of the recording medium 4 and the probe electrode 6 are constantly exposed to the atmosphere, and moisture in the atmosphere etc., resulting in severe deterioration of characteristics over time, and dust in the atmosphere may adhere to the probe electrode 6 and the recording medium 4, causing damage. Furthermore, since the recording medium 4 and the probe electrode 6 are quite close to each other, the S/N may be deteriorated due to various reasons such as the probe electrode 6 coming into contact with the recording medium 4 due to external vibrations and damaging the surface of the recording medium 4. There is a risk of a decrease in ratio and recording/reproduction errors.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording carrier that prevents characteristic deterioration, damage, dust adhesion, etc. of probes and recording media, and has high reliability in recording and reproduction, and an information processing apparatus using the same.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in an information recording carrier according to the present invention and an information processing apparatus using the same, an information processing probe, a recording medium, and a high viscosity liquid are arranged in a frame. It is characterized by being sealed inside.

Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention related to the above-mentioned specific invention, an information recording carrier in which a probe, a recording medium, and a highly viscous liquid are sealed in a frame is installed, and an information recording carrier is provided between the recording medium and the recording medium via the probe. It is characterized by processing information.

[Operation] The information recording carrier having the above-mentioned configuration and the information processing apparatus using the same are provided such that the information recording carrier has a probe within the frame,
Since the recording medium and high viscosity liquid are sealed, the probe,
Deterioration of characteristics, damage, and dust adhesion to the recording medium are prevented. In addition, the vibration of the probe is damped by the highly viscous liquid,
The risk of the probe coming into contact with the recording medium is reduced, improving the reliability of recording and reproduction.

[Example] The present invention will be explained in detail based on the example illustrated in Section 1 to FIG. 5.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an information recording carrier according to the present invention and an information processing apparatus using the same, and an information recording carrier 20 is inserted into a processing apparatus main body 21. As shown in FIG.

The information recording carrier 20 has a small number of probe electrodes 2
2 is housed in a frame 24 together with a recording medium 23, and is configured to be detachable from the processing apparatus main body 21. This recording medium 23 uses a stack of six layers of polyimide made of pyromellitic anhydride and 4,4-diaminodiphenyl ether formed by the LB method, and the probe electrode 22 made of tungsten is shown in FIG. They are respectively attached to the ends of bimorph beams 26 that are cantilever-supported by the base 25 as shown in FIG. The cross-sectional configuration of the bimorph beam 26 is, for example, an upper electrode (Au)/insulating film (SisN4
) / Piezo layer (ZnO) / Insulating film (Si3N-) / Middle electrode (Au) / Insulating film (Si-N4) / Piezo layer (ZnO
:)/insulating film (Si, N4)/lower electrode (Au), dimensions are 750 um x 150 μm, thickness 7
．． It is possible to create a material with a thickness of about 5 um. When the two piezo layers of this bimorph beam 26 are polarized in the same direction, voltages of the same polarity are applied to the middle electrode, such as positive (negative) to the upper electrode and positive (negative) to the lower electrode. By this,
The tip of the bimorph beam 26, that is, the probe electrode 22 is displaced, and for example, in the case of the above-mentioned device, the amount of displacement is about 5 μm at an applied voltage of ±15 V. Note that the probe electrode 22
The wiring and the circuit for guiding the drive voltage of each bimorph beam 26 can be formed on the base 25 and the bimorph beam 26. Further, the probe electrode 22 and the bimorph beam 26 as described above can be manufactured using a known method called micromechanics or micromachining.
Petersen, Proc. IEEE70,4
20 f1982) and T. R. Albrecht e.
tal, 4th Inter-national c
onferenee on STM/STS (STM'
89) Pi-29,310-21.

In this way, the base 25 to which the bimorph beam 26 is attached is attached to the inside of the upper surface of the frame 24 with the probe electrode 22 facing downward, as shown in the third section. On the other hand, the recording medium 23 is a moving substrate 27 made of quartz glass, for example.
The movable substrate 27 is provided on the base electrode 28 placed on the base electrode 28, and is formed by vaporizing Cr by 50 people and Au by 300 people by vacuum evaporation method. The recording medium 23 is supported on the frame 24 by a backing 29 consisting of a seal, and the recording medium 23 is mounted on the base 2.
XY with the moving board 27 while keeping the distance from 5 constant.
It is possible to move in any direction, that is, in the horizontal plane. and,
In a sealed area surrounded by the recording medium 23, the frame 24, the base 25, the moving substrate 27, and the backing 29 inside the frame 24, a polymer with a weight average molecular weight of 700 (degree of polymerization about 7) made by polymerizing methyl methacrylate, for example, is used. It is a polymer compound with a low degree of polymerization made of polymethyl methacrylate (hereinafter referred to as PMMA), and a highly viscous liquid is encapsulated therein.

As shown in the perspective view of the lower surface of FIG. The drive mechanism 31 and the moving board 27 are brought into contact with each other. Further, an electrode 32 is formed at the lower end of the frame 24, and when the information recording carrier 20 is inserted into the processing device main body 21 as shown by the arrow in the first panel, a signal is transmitted to the processing device main body 21. Used for power connection. These electrodes 32 are basically connected to the probe electrodes 22 and the bimorph beam 26 within the frame 24, but if necessary, at least a part of a drive circuit to be described later may be built into the information recording carrier 20 as a drive circuit 34. has been done.

On the other hand, the processing device main body 21 is provided with the aforementioned XY drive mechanism 31 that can move in the XY force directions, and a vertical movement mechanism 35 is mechanically connected to the lower part of the XY drive mechanism 31.
When the XY drive mechanism 31 moves upward, the XY drive mechanism 31 is inserted through the window 30 into the information recording carrier 20 inserted into the processing device main body 21, and the XY drive mechanism 31 comes into contact with the moving board 27. For this XY drive mechanism 31, a piezoelectric element having a so-called inch worm configuration or the like can be used.

Further, due to the contact with the electrode 32 of the information recording carrier 20, a drive circuit as shown in FIG. 5 is completed in the processing device main body 21. That is, an XY scanning circuit 40 for scanning and driving the XY drive mechanism 31 in the XY force direction, a voltage application circuit 41 for applying a voltage between the probe electrode 22 and the base electrode 28, and a tunnel between the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 23. A current amplifier 42 that amplifies the current, a servo circuit 43 that adjusts the voltage applied to the bimorph beam 26 so that the current detected using the current amplifier 42 is constant, and controls the entire device and analyzes data. A microcomputer 44 is provided. Note that the coarse movement mechanism, coarse movement drive circuit, other probe electric @ 22, bimorph beam 26, and its auxiliary circuits are not shown.

In the above configuration, the XY drive side 31 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 35 to a position where attachment and detachment of the information recording carrier 20 is not obstructed, and the information recording carrier 20 is inserted into the processing apparatus main body 21 in the first position.
The device is inserted in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and when inserted, the electrode 32 and the electrode connection part 33 come into contact to complete the drive circuit, and then the XY drive rock 31 is ascended again and inserted into the information recording carrier 20 through the window part 30. Then, the probe electrode 22 is brought into mechanical contact with the moving substrate 27, and the probe electrode 22 is brought close to the recording medium 23 by a coarse movement mechanism (not shown), thereby completing preparation for information processing.

During recording, the probe electrode 2 is
2. If a rectangular pulse voltage of 3.5 V and a pulse width of 50 ns is applied across the recording medium 23, the characteristics of the recording medium 23 will change to create a portion with low electrical resistance, allowing recording to be performed. During reproduction, for example, 2
While applying a DC voltage of 0.0 mV, the generated tunnel current is amplified and detected by the current amplifier 42, and the servo circuit 43 applies a voltage to each bimorph beam 26 so that the tunnel current becomes a constant value of, for example, 0.1 nA. , the probe electrode 2 is controlled by the microcomputer 44.
2 in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium 23. Since the amount of feedback drive of the bimorph beam 26 at that time corresponds to the recorded information on the recording medium 23, the probe electrode 22 is moved in the horizontal plane by the XY drive mechanism 31 driven by the XY scanning circuit 40, Information can be played back. Further, erasing can be performed by applying a triangular wave pulse voltage of 5 cm and a pulse width of 1 μS. Note that when a plurality of probe electrodes 22 are present, selection thereof is performed by the drive circuit 34 or the microcomputer 44.

In this way, the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 23 are housed in the frame 24, and since the highly viscous liquid is further enclosed, the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 23 are shielded from the atmosphere, and even when the recording medium is replaced. By unitizing the parts with high deterioration prevention, dustproof effect, and high precision into the information recording carrier 20 without changing the sealing state, the processing device main body 2
The productivity of other parts such as the first part is improved, and since the high-precision parts can be replaced, maintenance is easy in case of damage due to an accident or the like.

Furthermore, by enclosing a highly viscous liquid, the vibrations of the bimorph beam 26 can be damped to prevent contact and damage between the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 23. Therefore, the information recording carrier 20 can be replaced while the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 23 are kept close to each other, and the probe electrode 22 and the recording medium 2 can be replaced after the information recording carrier 20 is inserted.
3 can be quickly aligned.

In addition to PMMA, polystyrene (PS) having a weight average molecular weight of 400 (degree of polymerization: 3) obtained by polymerizing styrene is also suitable as the enclosed liquid. Note that since this polymer liquid is a highly viscous liquid, the risk of leakage from the sealed area can be extremely reduced.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the information recording carrier according to the present invention and the information processing apparatus using the same, the information recording carrier holds the probe and the recording medium in a sealed state, and the high viscosity liquid holds the probe and the recording medium in a sealed state. Since the vibrations of the probe and the recording medium are attenuated, it is possible to prevent property deterioration, damage, and dust adhesion of the probe and recording medium, thereby improving the reliability of recording and reproduction of the information processing apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Drawings 1 to 5 show embodiments of an information recording carrier according to the present invention and an information processing device using the same, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the information recording carrier inserted into the main body of the processing device; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of how to attach the probe electrode, Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the information recording carrier, Figure 4 is an external perspective view of the information recording carrier, and Figure 5 is the attachment of the information recording carrier to the main body of the processing device. FIG. 6 is a circuit configuration diagram of a conventional example in the inserted state. 20 is an information recording carrier, 21 is an information processing device, 22 is a probe electrode, 23 is a recording medium, 24 is a frame, 25
26 is a base, 26 is a bimorph beam, 27 is a moving board, 28 is a base electrode, 29 is a backing, 31 is an XY drive circuit, 3
2 is an electrode, 41 is a voltage application circuit, 42 is a current amplifier, 4
3 is a servo circuit, and 44 is a microcomputer. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An information recording carrier characterized in that an information processing probe, a recording medium, and a highly viscous liquid are sealed in a frame. 2. The information recording carrier according to claim 1, wherein the number of probes is plural. 3. The information recording carrier according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a polymer film. 4. The information recording carrier according to claim 3, wherein the polymer film is a polyimide film. 5. The information recording carrier according to claim 1, wherein the highly viscous liquid is a polymer compound. 6. An information processing device, characterized in that an information recording carrier in which a probe, a recording medium, and a highly viscous liquid are sealed in a frame is installed, and information processing is performed between the recording media via the probe.