Abstract
Non-volatile memories based on scanning probes offer very high data densities, but existing approaches require the probe to be heated, which increases the energy expenditure and complexity of fabrication1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14. Here, we demonstrate the writing, reading and erasure of an ultrahigh-density array of nanoscopic indentations without heating either the scanning probe tip or the substrate. An atomic force microscope tip causes microphase transitions of the polystyrene-block-poly(n-pentyl methacrylate) of a block copolymer to occur at room temperature by application of pressure alone. We demonstrate a data storage density of 1 Tb in−2, which is limited only by the size of the tip. This demonstration of a pressure-based phase-change memory at room temperature may expedite the development of next-generation ultrahigh-density data storage media.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Creative Research Initiative Program supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). We appreciate the assistance of Yeong Ki Kim in experiments of FIB and TEM at National Center for Nanomaterials and Technology (NCNT), and Moon Seop Hyun in AFM experiment at National Nano Fab Center (NNFC). Small-angle X-ray scattering was performed at PLS beam line (4C2) supported by POSCO and NRF.
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A.J. and J.K.K. designed and implemented the system, analysed the data and wrote the paper. W.J., W.-H.J. and H.N. contributed data. All authors edited and commented on the paper.
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Jo, A., Joo, W., Jin, WH. et al. Ultrahigh-density phase-change data storage without the use of heating. Nature Nanotech 4, 727–731 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.260
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.260
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