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'Millipede' Prototype Shown at CeBIT

Posted by timothy on from the idea-with-legs dept.

neutron_p writes "It was a subject of much controversy for last 5 - 7 years, but it's finally got protyped. At CeBIT, IBM for the first time shows the prototype of "Millipede" - nanomechanical data storage device. Using revolutionary nanotechnology, scientists at the IBM Zurich R&D Lab, Switzerland, have made it to the millionths of a millimeter range, achieving data storage densities of more than one terabit per square inch, equivalent to storing the content of 25 DVDs on an area the size of a postage stamp. The principle of operation is comparable with the old punch cards, but now with structural dimensions in the nanometer scale and the ability to erase data and rewrite the medium."

9 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Similar to punch cards? by tinrobot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Like when you drop a three foot tall stack of them in the computer lab and have to spend several hours putting them back in order?

    (true story)

  2. I think i got it by deft · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The principle of operation is comparable with the old punch cards"

    So now we feed these stamp sized cards intot he big machine, and it says "working!, working!, working!" till it spits out another stamp with the answer.

    Awesome.

    --

    There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
  3. Obvious remaining questions by RyanFenton · · Score: 5, Insightful


    1. What's the read/write speed?
    2. What's the operating temperature requirements?
    3. What's the max operating heat output per unit?
    4. How many concurrant inputs/outputs can we get into a unit?
    5. What's the failure rate/expected operating lifespan?
    6. What's the near-term expected commodity cost of these units?
    7. Given 1-6, how many units would be needed to make a properly redundant filesystem with at least the reliability and speed of current file storage devices on the market? What would be the expected near-term cost?

    Ryan Fenton

    1. Re:Obvious remaining questions by kebes · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I can't answer on behalf of IBM or the millipede project, but if you want my opinion (as an academic researcher who uses similar technology), then I'd guess:

      1. Competitive to HDD, since the tips don't seek very far (100 microns max) and since data output from multiple tips can be done in parrallel (in principle, 4000 bits at once, depending on data contiguity, etc.). The time required to actually 'melt' the divots might be the limiting factor, but again that should be offset by the ability to write 4000 bits at once.

      2. Room temperature is fine for piezos and cantilevers. Even cold temperatures should be fine. I imagine the material they use would stop responding properly if the device were too hot (above 70 C maybe), but if placed in a computer case away from the hottest components, it should be fine.

      3. Even though each tip uses local heating, I don't think the device temperature would be very high. In read mode, the cantilevers are passive and the piezo doesn't generate much heat (I use AFMs at work, and they don't generate heat the way a magnetic HDD does).

      4. As I describe in another post, each array in principle alloys thousands of tips to read/write together, at the same time. Stacking a bunch of arrays in a real device is straight-forward.

      5. Failure rate might be a problem, and needs consideration. In the lab, sometimes I can use a tip for a long time without damage, but sometimes they can snap off. If the device is properly designed I would guess failure rates for each tip would be okay. Polymer degredation or aging is a very real problem. Presumably they are optimizing that as best they can. I think initial devices will probably have extensive error correction, so that if one tip dies, it can recover the data from that region and write it somewhere else.

      6. The current cost for MEMS tips batch-processed like this can be from 1$ per tip to as much as 50$ per tip, depending what you want. So an array might cost thousands of dollars. Of course, the tips are use are for a small market (academic research). It is easier to use lithography to make a bunch of chips than to make a Pentium chip, though, so I imagine if it went into mass production, it wouldn't cost more than 100$ per array. So competitive with HDD.

      7. My guess: initial devices to hit the market will have 10 redundant arrays with tons of error-checking. The storage will be competitive with magnetic drives and transfer rates will be too. Cost will be a bit higher, but after being in production for about 5 years, most figures of merit will be better than HDD, and cost will be down to what we're currently used to paying for storage.

      But these are, of course, just my (hopefully educated) guesses.

  4. reasons this is better by kebes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For those interested, here are some advantages I see to this technology:

    1. Increased storage density. More importantly, this prototype is not near any fundamental limit. Hence, it would appear that there is plenty of room to reduce the dimensions of the MEMS tips to increase storage densities way past what a magnetic drive can do.

    2. Data transfer rate. In principle, the thousdands of different tips can all return data at the same time, compared to, say, 4 bits returned at once from a 4-platter HDD. Of course, in real situations, not all 4000 bits will necessarily be of interest, but I think with smart caching and device layout the throughput should be very high (i.e.: contiguous bits in a file are spread out so that the entire file is read by the 4000 tips without anything moving).

    3. Low seek times. In a HDD, the head must move by many centimeters in order to seek randomly. In Millipede, the entire surface moves by, at most, 100 micrometers to find a new location. It probably uses piezoelectrics, which are fast and robust. Thus, I see seek times being lower (at least in a mature device).

    4. Scalable. This prototype has a single array of tips on a single polymer layer. Obviously it is straightforward to build real devices using 10 or 20 of these arrays stacked. Unlike the platters in a HDD, these arrays could be seeking independantly, so if properly designed, performance could be very good (like RAID maybe?).

    5. Heat. The piezos shouldn't heat up too much, and even though the tips themselves use pinpoint heating to deform the polymer, I think the bulk device heat would be lower than a HDD spinning at 10k rpm. Less noise too.

    6. Cost. By using established MEMS technology (i.e.: the same lithography used to make microchips nowadays) I don't think implementation costs (and future scaling) will be too expensive (as compared to some more far-fetched nanotech ideas).

    This has been in the works for a long time, but I think we may actually see real devices soon! (6 years?) I think this technology has real potential, and I think IBM is right to pursue it.

  5. Re:Also shown... by deathcloset · · Score: 5, Insightful

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disk
    The information on a standard CD is encoded as a spiral track of pits moulded into the top of the polycarbonate layer

    Sometimes it's true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. The preffered method for lengthy data storage still involves making an impression.

    The oldest methods of "data storage" go back to the birth of written language. These involved either making impressions in the sand, or for more permanent storage making engravings into stone.

    How small our stones have gotten, eh? :)

  6. So frustrating...! by The-Bus · · Score: 5, Funny
    "25 DVDs on an area the size of a postage stamp"


    What the hell does that mean? I know a postage stamp, but I would rather know REAL standards. What is the LoC/FF for that item? We need to use real scientific standards people. In data storage we talk about bits and bytes, when you talk data density, you can only use LoC/FF. Anything else is ludicrous! It's like talking about car speeds at Furlongs per Week.

    Geez. I wish journalistic integrity was a bit higher. It just irks me to-

    What? What's LoC/FF?

    Libraries of Congress per Football Field of course. You know, the standard.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  7. Re:but how many... by Laivincolmo · · Score: 5, Funny
    1 terabit = 0.125 terabytes

    1 Library of Congress = 10 terabyes = 80 terabits

    1 terabit per chip

    => 1/80 Library of Congress per Chip

    16.5mm x 17.5mm x 1.2mm = 346.5mm^2

    Volume of VW Beetle: 7,710,952.32 mm^2

    => 22,253.83 chips per VW Beetle

    => 278.27 Libraries of Congress per VW Beetle

    Help a College Student

  8. You're Missing the Point by Peaked · · Score: 5, Funny

    What this obviously means is that I'm one step closer to a cyberpunk style computer in my skull. Who needs to learn when you have google access directly interfaced with your brain?

    God, I hope I'm kidding...