DATA STORAGE MEDIUM FOR STORING DATA AS A POLARIZATION OF A DATA MAGNETIC FIELD AND METHOD AND APPARATUS USING SPIN-POLARIZED ELECTRONS FOR STORING THE DATA ONTO THE DATA STORAGE MEDIUM AND READING THE STORED DATA THEREFROM

摘要

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A data storage medium comprising a substrate and adata storage layer formed on the substrate. The data storagelayer comprises a fixed number of atomic layers of a magneticmaterial which provide the data storage layer with a magneticanisotropy perpendicular to a surface of the data storagelayer. A data magnetic field is created in the data storagelayer. The data magnetic field is polarized either in afirst direction corresponding to a first data value or in asecond direction corresponding to a second data value. Datais stored in the data storage layer by providing a spin-polarized electron having an electron magnetic field with adirection of polarization corresponding to one of the firstand the second data values, and directing the spin-polarizedelectron at the data magnetic field to impart the directionof polarization of the electron magnetic field to the datamagnetic field. Data is read from the data storage layer bydirecting the spin-polarized electron at the data magneticfield and detecting a deflection or attraction of the spin-polarized electron by the data magnetic field.Alternatively, data is read from the data storage layer bydirecting the spin-polarized electron at the data magneticfield so that the magnetic medium produces a secondaryelectron and then detecting certain characteristics of thesecondary electron.