Expedited Award: Interfacial Morphology of Polymer Thin Films for Computer Memory Applications

研究摘要：本研究的重点是聚合物薄膜在微电子/计算机工业中的应用。主要研究领域包括在有机薄膜中采用激光直接写入和擦除的高密度可逆大质量数据存储，这些薄膜的界面性质和相形态的测定，以及这些薄膜的制备和表征。为了开发可行的系统和优化加工条件，将进行深入的实验研究和关键过程的模型模拟。对当前技术的影响：这项研究的成功将允许大量数据被存储、随意删除和实时传输。所有这些任务都可以在轻质紧凑的有机介质中完成。因此，信息处理将不再受到当前磁盘技术的限制，这种技术经常受到磁头碰撞、偶然被杂散磁场擦除以及数据密度普遍较低的影响。最后一个缺点是读写头不能小型化，不能处理小于50平方微米的点。相比之下，激光脉冲可以聚焦到小到1平方微米的区域。很明显，如果光学介质得到发展，计算机技术发展的一个主要瓶颈将被消除。

Research Summary: The research is focused on the use of polymeric thin films in the microelectronics/computer industry. Major areas being studied include high density reversible mass data storage by direct laser writing and erasure in organic thin films, interfacial properties and phase morphology determination of these films, and preparation and characterization of these thin films. Both in-depth experimental investigations and model simulations of key processes will be pursued in order to develop feasible systems and optimize processing conditions. Impact on Current Technology: Success of this research will allow data in massive amounts to be stored, erased at will, and transferred in real time. All these tasks can be accomplished in light weight and compact organic media. Information processing will therefore no longer be limited by current magnetic disk technology, which suffers from frequent head crashes, accidental erasure by stray magnetic fields and generally low data density. The last drawback stems from the fact that reading and writing heads can not be miniaturized as to address spots smaller than about 50 square micrometers. In contrast, laser pulses can be focused to expose areas as small as 1 square micrometer. It is clear that if optical media are developed, a major bottleneck of computer technology evolution will be removed.