Data storage medium, data storage device containing same, and method of manufacturing data storage device containing same
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsRobert Chen, Qing Ma, Valluri Rao
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A data storage medium includes a piezoelectric film (101) having a surface (111) including a halogen. In one embodiment, the halogen exists in an atomic concentration of at least approximately 10 percent. The result is a hydrophobic surface conducive to long-lasting scanning probe tips, low contamination, and stable surface charge. A data storage device incorporating the data storage medium includes an enclosure (205) containing the data storage medium and an adjacent scanning probe (230) wherein the enclosure has a relative humidity of at least approximately 40 percent and at least a portion of the scanning probe is coated with a layer of water.
Claims6
A method of manufacturing a data storage device, the method comprising:
- providing a data storage medium;
- chemically modifying the data storage medium such that it has a halogen atomic concentration at its surface;
- placing a scanning probe adjacent to the data storage medium such that the scanning probe is capable of touching the data storage medium;
- enclosing the data storage medium and the scanning probe in an enclosure;
- and
- causing the enclosure to have a relative humidity of at least approximately 40 percent,
- wherein:
- chemically modifying the data storage medium comprises fluorinating the data storage medium by exposing the data storage medium to a plasma comprising sulfur hexafluoride;
- and
- exposing the data storage medium to a plasma comprising sulfur hexafluoride comprises:
- placing the data storage medium in a plasma chamber;
- introducing a sulfur hexafluoride gas into the plasma chamber;
- and
- exciting the sulfur hexafluoride gas using an RF power source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.