SURFACE MICROMACHINED INTERFEROMETER-BASED OPTICAL READING TECHNIQUE

A surface micromachined suspended interferometer and an atomic force m icroscope (AFM) are incorporated into a novel optical reading techniqu e. The AFM tip mechanically deflects the suspended membrane as it scan s past a data bit on the membrane surface. The data are read by monito ring the changing interference pattern generated in the optical apertu re of the interferometer. When operated in parallel, there exists the potential for high speed, high density data reading. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.