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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Scanning-probe Single-electron Capacitance Spectroscopy
Published on: July 30, 2013
Charge-based scanning probe readback of nanometer-scale ferroelectric domain patterns at megahertz rates
Martin G Forrester1, Joachim W Ahner, Mark D Bedillion
1Seagate Research, 1251 Waterfront Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA.
Abstract:
We present a method for data storage in continuous ferroelectric (FE) media, applicable to storage systems based on one or more scanning probes. Written FE domains are read back in a destructive fashion by applying a constant voltage of magnitude greater than the coercive voltage, as is done in FE random access memory (FeRAM). The resulting flow of screening charges through the readback amplifier provides sufficient signal to allow readback of domains of minimum dimension of the order of 10 nm at MHz rates, orders of magnitude faster than previously demonstrated techniques for readback of domains in continuous FE media.
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