Low-stiffness silicon cantilevers for thermal writing and piezoresistive readback with the atomic force microscope

Abstract

Low‐stiffness silicon cantilevers have been developed for proposed data storage devices based on the atomic force microscope, in particular thermomechanical recording. The cantilevers combine a sharp tip with an integrated piezoresistive sensor for data readback from a rotating polycarbonate disk. A novel process was developed to make shallow piezoresistors in cantilevers 1 μm thick, significantly thinner and therefore softer than previously possible. Readback was demonstrated at linear velocities up to 120 mm/s. Separate cantilevers with resistively heated tips were fabricated for writing data marks on polycarbonate, with measured thermal time constants of 30 μs.