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Atomic Scale Memory at a Silicon Surface

R. Bennewitz·J. N. Crain·A. Kirakosian·J. -L. Lin·J. L. McChesney·D. Y. Petrovykh·F. J. Himpsel
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Abstract

The limits of pushing storage density to the atomic scale are explored with a memory that stores a bit by the presence or absence of one silicon atom. These atoms are positioned at lattice sites along self-assembled tracks with a pitch of 5 atom rows. The writing process involves removal of Si atoms with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The memory can be reformatted by controlled deposition of silicon. The constraints on speed and reliability are compared with data storage in magnetic hard disks and DNA.

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R. Bennewitz, J. N. Crain, A. Kirakosian, J. -L. Lin, J. L. McChesney, D. Y. Petrovykh, F. J. Himpsel. 2002-06-20. Atomic Scale Memory at a Silicon Surface. https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484%2F13%2F4%2F312

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