Optical memory using an atomic force microscope and a surface micromachined interferometer

Summary form only given. We demonstrate an optical reading technique which uses an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a micromechanically released membrane. Memory optical storage methods involving the AFM or the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) are desirable for their potential applications in extremely high density memory data bit arrays. The densities of bits written using scanning probe microscope tips are more than two orders of magnitude greater than that available with state-of-the-art commercial optical techniques.