41results about "Recording by physical/electrical perturbations" patented technology

Disclosed herewith is a method for enabling fast and high density recording of information. A voltage is applied to a recording layer formed between a pair of electrodes. The distance between the pair of electrodes is set wider at one of land and groove areas of a subject optical disk and narrower at the other, or the disk has multi-recording layer structure and light absorption occurs only in the layer on which coloring voltage is applied. The optical disk is provided with a layer of which light absorption spectrum changes according to the application of voltage, thereby absorbing the light. The layer may be the recording layer itself or a layer adjacent to the recording layer. Because a heat generates only in a selected area of the optical disk at the time of recording, the disk can also avoid cross-talks between layers during reading and can be turned rapidly and permissively to the auto focusing and tracking offsets, thereby enabling fast and high density recording. The disk can thus be formed with easily selectable multiple layers.

A method of detecting the positions of a plurality of probes. An input beam is directed into an optical device and transformed into a plurality of output beamlets which are not parallel with each other. Each output beamlet is split into a sensing beamlet and an associated reference beamlet. Each of the sensing beamlets is directed onto an associated one of the probes with an objective lens to generate a reflected beamlet which is combined with its associated reference beamlet to generate an interferogram. Each interferogram is measured to determine the position of an associated one of the probes. A similar method is used to actuate a plurality of probes. A scanning motion is generated between the probes and the sample. An input beam is directed into an optical device and transformed into a plurality of actuation beamlets which are not parallel with each other.

A method for writing information on a highly coercive recording medium stably with an electric field applied through a metal probe and with a magnetic field applied from external and an information recording system that employs the method. The recording medium includes a substrate, a first ferromagnetic layer formed on the substrate, a nonmagnetic layer formed on the first ferromagnetic layer, and a second ferromagnetic layer formed on the nonmagnetic layer. The coercivity Hc2 of the second ferromagnetic layer is larger than that Hc1 of the first ferromagnetic layer. A magnetic field H is applied to the magnetic recording medium from a magnetic pole to change the magnetizing direction of the first ferromagnetic layer to a direction of the applied magnetic field, then a positive or negative voltage V is applied between the metal probe and the magnetic recording medium to change the quantum well level energy between the first and second ferromagnetic layers, thereby inducing an exchange magnetic field HE. As a result, the magnetizing direction of the second ferromagnetic layer is changed with both the exchange magnetic field HE and the magnetic field H.

A method of actuating a plurality of probes. Each probe may be made of two or more materials with different thermal expansion coefficients which are arranged such that when the probe is illuminated by an actuation beam it deforms to move the probe relative to a sample. Energy is delivered to the probes by sequentially illuminating them with an actuation beam via an objective lens in a series of scan sequences. Two or more of the probes are illuminated by the actuation beam in each scan sequence and the actuation beam enters the objective lens at a different angle to an optical axis of the objective lens for each probe which is illuminated in a scan sequence. The actuation beam is controlled so that different amounts of energy are delivered to at least two of the probes by the actuation beam during at least one of the scan sequences.

A method and apparatus for reading data bits stored on a storage medium is provided. The apparatus comprises a data probe structure including a data probe and at least one switch attached to the data probe, a controllable voltage source configured to supply voltage to the data probe structure, and a charge amplification structure configured to receive charge from the data probe structure. The controllable voltage source applies a first voltage to the data probe structure and subsequently applies a second voltage to the data probe structure, thereby causing a sense capacitance to charge and then discharge into the charge amplification structure. Certain embodiments of the design may employ dummy cells, diodes in place of switches, and may use a single line to control voltage switching. A lock-in amplifier approach is also presented.

A method for switching the direction of polarization in a relatively small domain in a thin-film ferroelectric material whose direction of polarization is oriented normal to the surface of the material involves a step of moving an electrically-chargeable tip into contact with the surface of the ferroelectric material so that the direction of polarization in a region adjacent the tip becomes oriented in a preselected direction relative to the surface of the ferroelectric material. The tip is then pressed against the surface of the ferroelectric material so that the direction of polarization of the ferroelectric material within the area of the ferroelectric material in contact with the tip is reversed under the combined effect of the compressive influence of the tip and electric bias.

A method for switching the direction of polarization in a relatively small domain in a thin-film ferroelectric material whose direction of polarization is oriented normal to the surface of the material involves a step of moving an electrically-chargeable tip into contact with the surface of the ferroelectric material so that the direction of polarization in a region adjacent the tip becomes oriented in a preselected direction relative to the surface of the ferroelectric material. The tip is then pressed against the surface of the ferroelectric material so that the direction of polarization of the ferroelectric material within the area of the ferroelectric material in contact with the tip is reversed under the combined effect of the compressive influence of the tip and electric bias.

According to one embodiment, an information recording and reproducing device includes a recording layer which includes a typical element and a transition element, and stores a state of a first electric resistivity and a state of a second electric resistivity different from the first electric resistivity by a movement of the typical element, and an electrode layer which is disposed at one end of the recording layer to apply a voltage or a current to the recording layer. The recording layer includes a first region which is in contact with the electrode layer and the electrode layer includes a second region which is in contact with the recording layer. The first and second regions are opposite to each other. And the first and second regions include the typical element, and a concentration of the typical element in the second region is higher than that in the first region.

An electron beam applying apparatus includes: a thermal field emission type electron source emitting an electron beam; an electrostatic lens disposed immediately below the electron source and acting as a condensing electrode for condensing the electron beam in a first angular aperture emitted by the electron source in a second angular aperture smaller than the first angular aperture; a condenser lens disposed on a downstream side of the electrostatic lens and condensing the electron beam condensed in the second aperture angel by the electrostatic lens in a crossover point; and an objective lens disposed on a downstream side of the condenser lens and condensing the electron beam condensed in the crossover point by the condenser lens on the surface of the material.

An information recording medium of the present invention includes a recording layer whose phase changes by irradiation with a laser beam or application of current. The recording layer contains, as its main component, a composite composed of Ge and Sb that are essential components, and Te that is an optional component. The composite has a composition within a region enclosed by: point (a) (35, 65, 0), point (b) (36.9, 60, 3.1), point (c) (3.2, 60, 36.8), and point (d) (5, 95, 0) in terms of a coordinate (Ge, Sb, Te)=(x, y, z) on the triangular coordinate shown in FIG. 1, where point (b) corresponds to a point at Sb=60 on Ge60Te40—Ge35Sb65, point (c) corresponds to a point at Sb=60 on Te—Ge5Sb95, and the region includes lines extending between point (a) and point (b), point (b) and point (c), point (c) and point (d), and point (d) and point (a).

Data can be encoded in physical medium and represented by shapes having many various physical attributes. In various examples, data points are encoded and represented by the physical shape, color, size, and / or structure of objects. In one embodiment, holes in memory surface substrates represent data. Various attributes of such holes, including depth, profile size, profile shape, and / or angle can represent data.