Nano-lithography with rotating target and servo-positioned tip
US8358481B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 2, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jan 22, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 23, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B9/1409
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The preferred embodiments of the present invention are devices and processes for producing high resolution lithography or pattern formation on the nanometer scale, using a voltage-biased probe that is slider-mounted along with, or separate from but linked to, a magnetic read head within a HDD mechanism. The probe is guided and positioned over a target layer by the motion of the read head which is, itself, guided by signals from servo tracks on a magnetic layer that activate an electromechanical servomechanism within the HDD. An electric field produced by the probe is capable of modifying the surface of the target layer over which the probe flies either directly, or by current induced or thermally induced effects. Targets such as amorphous or crystalline silicon can be hydrogen passivated and the electric field will produce oxidized or anodized lines with nanometer resolution.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.