Development of ferroelectric data storage test system for high-density and high-speed read/write

In this study, we have developed ferroelectric data storage test systems based on scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy (SNDM) to conduct various experiments concerning read/write capability. Nanodomain formation on ferroelectric recording media was studied using the data storage test system. A nanodomain dot array was successfully written on a single-crystal LiTaO ₃ recording medium. The diameter of the written dot was as small as 7 nm. Epitaxial-thin-film LiTaO₃ recording media were also developed. Nanodomain dots with the diameter of 25 nm were written on the thin-film recording medium. In addition, a non-contact probe-height control technique was adopted to solve the problem of tip abrasion using higher-order nonlinear dielectric response detection method. Finally, a hard-disk-drive (HDD)-type ferroelectric data storage test system was developed for conducting read/write tests under conditions close to those of actual operation. Capabilities of reading at the bit rate of 2 Mbps and writing at the bit rate of 20 Mbps were confirmed using the HDD-type data storage test system.