NIRT: Nanomanufacturing Strategy and System Design for Nanoscale Patterned Magnetic Recording Medium

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The objectives of this research are: 1) to develop patterned magnetic recording media design guidelines for "next generation" information storage systems; 2) to develop highly exchange-coupled patterned media materials using combinatorial materials synthesis; 3) to develop manufacturing strategies at the nanometer scale using a combination of Multi-Atom Beam Lithography and Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography; 4) to demonstrate a prototype of a functional patterned medium at the scale of 25 nm/bit or 1 Terabit/in2; and 5) to extend the technology to the superparamagnetic limit at 3-4 nm/bit using a novel patterning approach based on self-assembled nanomask lithography. Prototype recording systems - a quasi-static recording tester and a spin-stand tester - will be used to evaluate the functionality (e.g., write/read efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio, bit error rates) of the patterned media. Micromagnetic modeling will be used to analyze the results and to optimize the design. The approach combines several diverse techniques to explore fundamental research into the recording physics of patterned media, nanoscale self-assembly, and the limits of resists and lithography. The proposed technology should enable the multi-billion dollar information storage industry to continue its record-setting growth rate for the next 7-15 years. It should also lead to dramatic storage device miniaturization, acting as a catalyst for a wealth of new mobile computing applications. The nanofabrication toolset should offer an immediate benefit to magnetic random access memory and magnetic quantum cellular automata, and thus has the potential to transform the integrated circuit industry. The toolset can be applied to molecular and nanoelectronic integrated systems as well.