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

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.