CONTROL SCHEME FOR A MEMORY DEVICE

• US 20080074792A1
• Filed: 01/19/2007
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nanochip, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nanochip, Inc.
• Inventors: Stark, Robert, Adams, Donald
• Application Number:
  US11/625,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20080074792A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/240
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 9/1436 with provision for moving the heads or record carriers relatively to each other

Abstract

A system for storing information comprises a media die including a frame and a media platform movably coupled with the frame, a media associated with the media platform, one or more capacitive sensors including an electrode fixedly connected with the media platform, and a tip platform including a tip, the tip platform positioned relative to the media platform such that the tip is arrangeable in communicative proximity to the media. The system further comprises circuitry to provide motion signals to urge the media platform relative to the tip platform, the circuitry including a coarse tracking loop, wherein the coarse tracking loop includes a trajectory generator and a primary control loop to adjust a trajectory generated by the trajectory generator based on a measurement from the one or more capacitive sensors.

Claims

1. A system for storing information comprising:

a media;

a tip platform including a tip, the tip platform positioned relative to the media platform such that the tip is arrangeable in communicative proximity to the media; and

circuitry to provide motion signals to urge the media platform relative to the tip platform, the circuitry including a coarse tracking loop;

wherein the coarse tracking loop includes a trajectory generator and a primary control loop to adjust a trajectory generated by the trajectory generator based on a measurement of a position of the media relative to the tip.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a media die including a frame and a media platform movably coupled with the frame;

wherein the media is associated with the media platform;

one or more capacitive sensors including an electrode connected with the media platform;

wherein the primary control loop adjusts the trajectory generated by the trajectory generator based on a measurement from the one or more capacitive sensors.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a cantilever extending from the tip platform;

wherein;

the tip extends from the cantilever;

the cantilever is actuatable in a plane of the media; and

the circuitry further includes tip positioning control to actuate the cantilever.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the tip positioning control includes one or both of a planar offset register bank and a ramp generator.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

a plurality of cantilevers extending from the tip platform;

a plurality of tips extending from respective cantilevers;

wherein

the plurality of cantilevers are actuatable in a plane of the media; and

the circuitry further includes tip positioning control to actuate the cantilevers.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the tip positioning control includes one or both of a planar offset register bank and a ramp generator.

7. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

an x-axis capacitive sensor including an electrode fixedly connected with the media platform and arranged to measure movement along an x-axis;

a y-axis capacitive sensor including an electrode fixedly connected with the media platform and arranged to measure movement along a y-axis;

wherein the circuitry to provide motion signals to urge the media platform relative to the tip platform includes an x-axis coarse tracking loop for providing an x-axis motion signal and a y-axis coarse tracking loop for providing a y-axis motion signal;

wherein the x-axis coarse tracking loop includes an x-axis trajectory generator and an x-axis primary control loop to refine a trajectory generated by the x-axis trajectory generator based on a measurement from the x-axis capacitive sensor; and

wherein the y-axis coarse tracking loop includes a y-axis trajectory generator and a y-axis primary control loop to adjust a trajectory generated by the y-axis trajectory generator based on a measurement from the y-axis capacitive sensor.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the x-axis motion signal includes a signal for a first x-axis actuator and a signal for a second x-axis actuator;

the y-axis motion signal includes a signal for a first y-axis actuator and a signal for a second y-axis actuator;

the system further comprising;

a pair of x-axis capacitive sensors, each of the x-axis capacitive sensors including an electrode fixedly connected with the media platform and arranged to measure movement along an x-axis; and

a pair of y-axis capacitive sensors, each of the capacitive sensors including an electrode fixedly connected with the media platform and arranged to measure movement along a y-axis;

wherein the x-axis coarse tracking loop includes a gain and an off-set applied to one or both of the first x-axis actuator and the second x-axis actuator; and

wherein the y-axis coarse tracking loop includes a gain and an off-set applied to one or both of the first y-axis actuator and the second y-axis actuator.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first and second x-axis actuators are first and second x-axis voice coil motors; and

the first and second y-axis actuators are first a second y-axis voice coil motors.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the trajectory generator is adapted to refine a trajectory based on the primary control loop.

11. A method of positioning a media relative to a tip in a probe storage system including circuitry with a coarse tracking loop to provide motion signals to urge the media relative to the tip, wherein the media includes an electrode of a capacitive sensor, the method comprising:

generating a trajectory for the media to be urged;

urging the media based on the trajectory;

receiving position information from the capacitive sensor; and

adjusting a position of the media using the position information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising refining the trajectory based on the position information.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the trajectory further comprises:

determining an initial position using information read from the media by the tip;

identifying a final position based on an information request from a controller; and

generating the trajectory based on the initial position and the finial position.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the position of the media further comprises:

measuring a change in capacitance of the capacitive sensor; and

providing a correction signal for the trajectory.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising actuating the tip in a plane of the media.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising actuating the tip in a plane of the media based on the initial position and the final position.

17. A system of storing information comprising:

a media movable relative to a tip;

a tip arrangeable in communicative proximity to the media

wherein the media is movable relative to the tip;

a capacitive sensor including an electrode fixed in position relative to the media and an electrode fixed in position relative to the tip;

circuitry to provide a signal to urge the media relative to the tip the circuitry including a coarse tracking loop;

wherein the coarse tracking loop includes a feed forward signal generated based on an initial position and a final position of the media relative to the tip and corrective signal based on a measurement of the capacitive sensor.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the feed forward signal generated based on an initial position and a final position is adapted to be refined for use in the coarse tracking loop based on the primary control loop.

19. The probe storage system of claim 18, further comprising:

a cantilever from which the tip extends;

wherein the cantilever is actuatable in a plane of the media; and

wherein the circuitry further includes tip positioning control to actuate the cantilever.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the tip positioning control includes one or both of a planar offset register bank and a ramp generator.

21. A system for storing information comprising:

a media;

a tip platform including a tip, the tip platform positioned relative to the media platform such that the tip is arrangeable in communicative proximity to the media; and

circuitry to provide motion signals to urge the media platform relative to the tip platform, the circuitry including a coarse tracking loop;

wherein the coarse tracking loop includes a trajectory generator and a primary control loop to adjust a generated by the trajectory generator based on a measurement of a position of the media relative to the tip.