Silicon nitride cantilever array integrated with silicon heaters and piezoelectric detectors for probe-based data storage

In this paper, new silicon nitride cantilevers integrated with silicon heaters and piezoelectric sensors have been developed to obtain an improved uniformity of the initial bending and the mechanical stability of the cantilever array for thermo-piezoelectric probe-based data storage. This nitride cantilever showed thickness uniformity less than 2%. Data bits of 40 nm in diameter were recorded on PMMA film. Sensitivity of the piezoelectric sensor was measured to be 0.615 fC/nm after poling, implying that indentations less than 20 nm in depth can be detected. Finally, 128 × 128 probe array was developed for high speed operation.