Jitter Investigation and Performance Evaluation of a Small-Scale Probe Storage Device Prototype

MEMS-based scanning-probe data storage devices are emerging as potential ultra-high-density, low-access-time, and low-power alternatives to conventional data storage. Thermomechanical probe-based storage on thin polymer films is arguably the most advanced scanning-probe data storage scheme. The performance evaluation of a small-scale storage device prototype based on this concept is presented. The emphasis is on understanding the timing jitter in the read-back signals. Experiments are performed that confirm that the primary source of timing-jitter is the nanometer-scale perturbations of the micro-scanner while positioning the recording medium relative to the read/write transducers. Analytical estimates of these micro-scanner perturbations are obtained. An extensive performance evaluation, using the experimentally identified channel and medium-noise spectral characteristics, is conducted to study the impact of the microscanner perturbations on the performance of the storage device.