Abstract: An information storage medium in which charges and electric dipoles are coupled with one another. The information storage medium includes a substrate, an electrode layer formed on the substrate, a ferroelectric layer formed on the electrode layer, and an insulating layer formed on the ferroelectric layer. Accordingly, it is possible to stably record information on the information storage medium.

Abstract: A micro actuator having separated stages and a data storage apparatus employing the same are provided. The micro actuator includes: a supporting unit; stages that are elastically supported by the supporting unit, each stage having a mounting surface where a target driven body is mounted thereon, and arranged adjacent to each other; levers which are disposed between the stages, each lever having two ends respectively connected to adjacent stages, and which apply force to the adjacent stages so that when one of the stages is moved, an adjacent stage is moved in an opposite direction to a moving direction of the moved stage; and driving units which respectively provide a driving force to the stages.

Abstract: An electric field sensor includes a substrate having a low resistive semiconductor layer doped with a high-density dopant as the top layer of the substrate, a high resistive semiconductor layer doped with a low-density dopant, the high resistive semiconductor layer located at a partial area on the low resistive semiconductor layer, and a conductive layer located on the high resistive semiconductor layer, wherein a change of an electric field is detected by a change of a current flowing through the low resistive semiconductor layer, the high resistive semiconductor layer, and the conductive layer.

Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a ferroelectric recording medium, an electric field sensor including a source region, a drain region and a resistance region electrically connecting the source region to the drain region and having a resistance, which varies according to an intensity of an electric field due to a polarization voltage of an electric domain of the recording medium, a voltage applying unit applying a drain voltage between the source region and the drain region, and a reproducing signal detection unit including at least one negative resistor installed in an electric circuit connecting the drain region to the voltage applying unit, and detecting a change in a voltage between the drain region and the at least one negative resistor.

Abstract: A semiconductor probe with a high-resolution tip and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The semiconductor probe includes: a cantilever doped with a first impurity; a resistive convex portion projecting from an end portion of the cantilever and lightly doped with a second impurity opposite in polarity to the first impurity; and first and second electrode regions formed on either side of the resistive convex portion and heavily doped with the second impurity.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image sensor capable of improving the resolution of images without modifying the resolution of a photoelectric conversion semiconductor device for sensing images and an image sensing method using the same. The image sensor is adapted to sense images through photoelectric conversion and includes a scanner unit adapted to move on a plane; a photoelectric conversion semiconductor device fixedly mounted on the scanner unit and having a number of pixels being arranged on a front surface; and an array of color filters arranged on the photoelectric conversion semiconductor device so as to correspond to the pixels. The image sensor improves the resolution of sensed images by sensing data of images, which cannot be sensed according to the related art, while using a conventional photoelectric conversion semiconductor device without modification, and without incurring further cost or degrading the performance.

Abstract: A ferroelectric recording medium and a writing method for the same are provided. The ferroelectric recording medium includes a ferroelectric layer which reverses its polarization when receiving a predetermined coercive voltage. A nonvolatile anisotrophic conduction layer is formed on the ferroelectric layer. A resistance of the anisotrophic conduction layer decreases when receiving a first voltage lower than the coercive voltage, and the resistance of the anisotrophic conduction layer increases when receiving a second voltage higher than the coercive voltage. Multi-bit information is stored by a combination of polarization states of the ferroelectric layer and the resistance of the anisotrophic conduction layer. Accordingly, multiple bits can be expressed on one domain of the ferroelectric recording medium.

Abstract: An electric field read/write head, a method of manufacturing the same, and an information storage device including the electric field read/write head are provided. The electric field read/write head includes: a resistance region formed in a substrate which comprises an end surface facing a recording medium; a source and a drain formed in the substrate and disposed on both sides of the resistance region, respectively; and an insulating layer and a write electrode formed sequentially on the resistance region, wherein the length (l) to width (w) ratio (l/w) of the resistance region satisfies (l/w)?0.2.

Abstract: Provided is an electric field information reading head for reading information from a surface electric charge of an information storage medium, the electric field information reading head comprising a semiconductor substrate having a resistance region formed in a central part at one end of a surface facing a recording medium, the resistance region being lightly doped with impurities, and source and drain regions formed on both sides of the resistance region, the source region and the drain region being more highly doped with impurities than the resistance region. The source region and the drain region extend along the surface of the semiconductor substrate facing the recording medium, and electrodes are connected electrically with the source region and the drain region respectively. In addition, provided is a method of fabricating the electric field information reading head and a method of mass-producing the electric field information reading head on a wafer.

Abstract: A method of recording bits on a ferroelectric medium using a scanning probe or a small conductive structure and a recording medium thereof, in which bit sizes can be decreased to increase data recording density as well as to reduce losses in reproduction signals. The method includes applying switching voltages to a lower electrode of the ferroelectric medium and the probe so as to write bits while approaching the probe to or bringing the probe into contact with a surface of the ferroelectric medium; and applying a base bias voltage, which is equal or smaller in magnitude and opposite in sign to the switching voltages between the switching voltages to make the probe equipotential with an upper portion of the record medium.

Abstract: Provided are a bit patterned medium having a super-track, a method of tracking a track of the bit patterned medium, a head appropriate for the bit patterned medium, and an information recording/reproducing apparatus including the bit patterned medium and the head. The bit patterned medium includes a substrate, and a recording layer comprised of a plurality of bit cells which are formed on the substrate by being separated from each other, along a plurality of tracks. Each of the plurality of tracks includes a super-track comprised of a plurality of sub-tracks. Bit cells formed on a sub-track from among the plurality of sub-tracks in the super-track are disposed so as to deviate from bit cells formed on another sub-track from among the plurality of sub-tracks in the super-track. A track ID (identification) for recognizing the super-track, and a servo burst generating a position error signal when a head tracks the super-track, are arranged in an area of each of the plurality of tracks.

Abstract: Provided are a semiconductor probe having a resistive tip and a method of fabricating the semiconductor probe. The semiconductor probe includes a resistive tip which is doped with a first impurity, and of which an apex portion is doped with a low concentration of a second impurity of opposite polarity to the first impurity, wherein first and second semiconductor electrode regions doped with a high concentration of the second impurity is formed on slopes of the resistive tip; a dielectric layer formed on the resistive tip; an electric field shield which is formed on the dielectric layer, and forms a plane together with the dielectric layer on the apex portion of the resistive tip; and a cantilever having an end on which the resistive tip is located.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an electric field sensor having an electric field shield. The method includes providing a substrate doped with a first impurity; forming a resistive tip having a resistance region doped with a low concentration of a second impurity at an apex of a protruding portion of the substrate, and first and second semiconductor electrode regions doped with a high concentration of the second impurity on both slopes of the protruding portion with the resistive region therebetween, wherein the second impurity has a polarity opposite to that of the first impurity; forming a dielectric layer on the resistive tip; forming a mask having a high aspect ratio on the dielectric layer; depositing a metal layer on the dielectric layer; and exposing the dielectric layer formed on the resistance region through the metal layer by removing the mask.

Abstract: Provided are a bit patterned medium having a super track, a reading head which reads data recorded on the bit-patterned medium, and a hard disk drive (HDD) for recording/reading data on/from the bit patterned medium. The bit patterned medium includes a substrate, and a recording layer formed with a plurality of bit cells separated from each other along a plurality of tracks forming concentric circles having different radii on the substrate, wherein each track includes a super track including a plurality of sub-tracks, and bit cells formed on one of the sub-tracks are arranged at different positions in a circumference direction of the recording layer to bit cells formed on adjacent sub-tracks. The reading head which reads data recorded on a bit patterned medium has a width in a cross-track direction sufficient for reading data of an equal number of bit cells as the plurality of sub-tracks.

Abstract: An information reproducing apparatus and a method using a semiconductor probe are provided. The information reproducing apparatus includes a semiconductor probe including a semiconductor tip including a channel varying with an electric field generated by an information recording medium; a modulator applying a high frequency modulation signal to the semiconductor probe to form a modulation electric field so as to modulate an information signal induced by the electric field; a signal detector detecting a signal generated by the semiconductor probe; and a demodulator extracting the information signal modulated by the modulation electric field from the signal detected by the signal detector.

Abstract: Provided is a ferroelectric recording medium including a ferroelectric recording layer formed of a polarization reversal ferroelectric material and an anisotropic conduction layer that covers the ferroelectric recording layer and changes into a conductor or a non-conductor based on external energy.

Abstract: An electrostatic actuator and a method of driving the same are provided. The actuator controls the displacement of a target object by adjusting a voltage between fixed comb electrodes and a moving comb electrode. The actuator includes an actuator control signal generator generating an actuator control signal by pulse-width modulating an actuator driving signal and a carrier signal; and an actuator unit including the fixed comb electrodes and the moving comb electrode and adjusting the voltage according to the actuator control signal. Accordingly, the displacement can be easily controlled using the pulse-width-modulated actuator driving signal even when both the voltage of the actuator driving signal and the frequency of the carrier signal are high.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an enhancement type semiconductor probe and an information storage device having the enhancement type semiconductor probe are provided. The method involves using an anisotropic wet etching and a side-wall in which influence of process parameters upon the performance of a device is reduced to improve reliability of the device in mass-production, and factors of degrading measuring sensitivity is removed to improve the performance of the device.

Abstract: Provided are a ferroelectric recording medium and a method of manufacturing the same. The ferroelectric recording medium includes a substrate, a plurality of supporting layers which are formed on the substrate, each of the supporting layers having at least two lateral surfaces; and data recording layers formed on the lateral surfaces of the supporting layers. First and second data recording layers may be respectively disposed on two facing lateral surfaces of each of the supporting layers. The supporting layers may be polygonal pillars having at least three lateral surfaces. A plurality of the supporting layers can be disposed at uniform intervals in a two-dimensional array.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a probe position error includes a position error extracting unit extracting probe position errors from signals detected by a probe; a position error adding unit calculating the probe position errors in units of a predetermined time; and a signal processing unit storing a past probe position error calculated by the position error extracting unit and generating a probe position error by processing the past probe position error and a current probe position error. An apparatus for tracking data includes a scanner moving a data storage medium; a probe detecting the signals from a data storage medium; an error detector detecting probe position errors in a half-period of an error extracting signal by applying the error extracting signal used to extract the probe position errors to the signal detected by the probe; and a compensator compensating for the probe position errors detected by the error detector.