Data storage device
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorSteven L. Naberhuis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a data storage device. The data storage device comprises a closed interior space containing a noble gas, a plurality of electron emitters having emission surfaces exposed within the interior space, the electron emitters adapted to emit electron beams, and a storage medium contained within the interior space in proximity to the electron emitters, the storage medium having a plurality of storage areas that are capable of at least two distinct states that represent data, the state of the storage areas being changeable in response to bombardment by electron beams emitted by the electron emitters.
Claims20
A data storage device, comprising:
- a closed interior space containing a noble gas;
- a plurality of electron emitters having emission surfaces exposed within the interior space, the electron emitters adapted to emit electron beams;
- and
- a storage medium contained within the interior space in proximity to the electron emitters, the storage medium having a plurality of storage areas that are capable of at least two distinct states that represent data, the state of the storage areas being changeable in response to bombardment by electron beams emitted by the electron emitters.
A data storage device, comprising:
- a closed interior space;
- a plurality of electron emitters having emission surfaces exposed within the interior space, the electron emitters adapted to emit electron beams;
- a storage medium contained within the interior space in proximity to the electron emitters, the storage medium having a plurality of storage areas that are capable of at least two distinct states that represent data, the state of the storage areas being changeable in response to bombardment by electron beams emitted by the electron emitters;
- and
- means for removing contaminants from the emission surface of the electron emitter.
A method for storing data, comprising the steps of:
- forming a data storage device including an interior space;
- providing a noble gas within the interior space;
- and
- sealing the interior space such that the space is maintained in a vacuum.
A method for removing contaminants from an emission surface of an electron emitter of a data storage device, comprising the steps of:
- providing a noble gas within an interior space of the data storage device to which the emission surface is exposed;
- exciting atoms within the gas by impacting them with an electron beam emitted by the electron emitter;
- wherein the atoms of the gas are ionized by impact with the electron beam and accelerated toward the emission surface to sputter remove the contaminants from the emission surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.