Nano Array Of Read/Write Tips Produces 1-Tbit/in.2 Memory Density

Aug. 5, 2002
The densest silicon memory chip yet, a prototype device with a MEMS silicon platform that moves beneath an array of nanoscale-size read/write tips, has achieved a density of 1 Tbit/in.2 That's 20 times what's commercially available....

The densest silicon memory chip yet, a prototype device with a MEMS silicon platform that moves beneath an array of nanoscale-size read/write tips, has achieved a density of 1 Tbit/in.2 That's 20 times what's commercially available. Developed by IBM's R&D lab in Zurich, Switzerland, the "Millipede" nano device can be operated at lower power levels than conventional memory storage devices.

As a proof of concept, IBM built a 3- by 3-mm chip that stores 200 Gbits/in.2 The storage medium is an active thin-film polymer layer deposited above a silicon MEMS chip. Above this "table" is a 2D array of 1024 (32 by 32) cantilevers (see the figure). Each V-shaped cantilever tip, 70 µm long and about 0.5 µm thick, is individually addressable and ends in a downward-pointing tip less than 2 µm long, where it contacts with the table for reading, writing, erasing, and rewriting data.

The table is moved precisely in the X and Y directions by electromagnetic actuation, with respect to the tips. Each tip can read or write within its own storage field of about 100 µm on a side by making 10-nm indentations in the polymer film. IBM says this is essentially atomic-level data addressing.

"We anticipate a thousandfold improvement in storage density," says IBM fellow and Nobel laureate Gerd Binnig, a researcher on the project. With flash memory technology not expected to go beyond 1 to 2 Gbytes in the near term, IBM foresees Millipede devices with 10 to 15 Gbytes in the same tiny format now used, at even less power.

"Besides its tremendous data-capacity potential, we're exploring the use of this concept in other areas like microscopic imaging, nanoscale lithography, and atomic and molecular manipulation," says Peter Vettiger, Millipede's project leader.

For details, visit www.ibm.com.

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.

Sponsored Recommendations

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!