Probe storage devices read and write data by making nanoscale marks on a surface through physical contact. The technology may one day extend the data density limits of conventional magnetic and optical storage, but current probes have limited lifespans due to mechanical wear.

A research team, led by Intel Corp., has now developed a long-lasting ultrahigh-density probe storage device by coating the tips of the probes with a thin metal film.

The team's device features an array of 5,000 ultrasharp probes that is integrated with on-chip electronic circuits.

The probes write tiny bits of memory as small as a few nanometers by sending short to a ferroelectric film, a material that can be given a permanent by applying an electric field. High-speed data access requires that the probes slide quickly and frequently across the film.

To prevent tip wear, which can seriously degrade the write-read resolution of the device, the researchers deposited a thin metal film of hafnium diboride (HfB2) on the probe tips.

As the researchers describe in the ' journal , the metal film reduces wear and enables the probe tips to retain their write-read resolution at high speeds for distances exceeding 8 kilometers – greatly increasing the device's lifetime.

The data densities of the device exceed 1 Terabit per square inch. The work is an important step toward the commercialization of a probe-based storage technology with capacities that exceed those of hard disk and solid-state drives.

More information: "Hard HfB2 tip-coatings for ultrahigh density probe-based storage," is published in Applied Physics Letters. apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v101/i9/p091909_s1

Journal information: Applied Physics Letters