Apparatus and method for reproducing information

An information reproducing apparatus includes a recording medium and a reproducing probe, and reproduces information from a signal between the recording medium and the probe. The apparatus further includes a unit for obtaining reproduced information from each of a plurality of data unit areas of the recording medium under different conditions. By obtaining a plurality of different kinds of information from scanning each recording region under the different conditions in a reproducing operation, it is possible to perform correction by discriminating a change in a tunnel current reflecting a recording bit from a tunnel current caused by projections and recesses of the surface and to remove a resulting error.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to reproduction of information, and more 
particularly, to a recording/reproducing apparatus which 
records/reproduces information using a tunnel current flowing between a 
needle-like electrode and a recording medium having a memory effect while 
the electrode moves relative to the recording medium. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Recently, scanning tunnel microscopes (hereinafter termed STM's) which can 
directly observe the electronic structure of atoms in the surface of a 
conductor have been developed. The STM is expected to be used for a wide 
range of applications since it can measure a high-resolution real-space 
image of either a single-crystal sample or a non-crystalline sample, 
observe the sample with low electric power with little or no damage to the 
sample due to current, operate in the air, and can be used for various 
kinds of materials. 
The STM utilizes a phenomenon that a tunnel current is generated if a metal 
probe is brought close to a conductive sample to a distance of about 1 nm 
(nanometer) while applying a voltage between the probe and the sample. 
This current is very sensitive to a change in the distance between the 
probe and the sample. Hence, by monitoring the tunnel current which 
changes when the probe scans the sample while maintaining the height of 
the probe constant, or by monitoring the amount of feedback for scanning 
with feedback control of the height of the probe so as to maintain the 
tunnel current constant, it is possible to depict the real-space structure 
of the surface of the sample, and also read various kinds of information 
relating to the total electronic cloud of electrons at the surface. 
Accordingly, it becomes entirely possible to perform a high-density 
recording/reproducing operation of the order as small as atomic order by 
applying the principle of the STM. 
Recording/reproducing methods using this principle are roughly divided into 
two kinds. In one method, the physical shape of a surface is changed. In 
an apparatus using this method, physical projections and recesses are 
formed on the surface of a recording medium by physical deformation by a 
probe, fusion by a high-energy beam, such as a laser light beam, an 
electron beam or the like, adhesion of fine particles, or the like. In 
another method, an apparatus utilizes a reversible change in the 
electronic state of a surface or its neighborhood without changing the 
physical shape of the surface. The apparatus using the second method of 
changing the electronic state is advantageous for practical use from the 
viewpoint of recording density and the posibility of erasing and rewriting 
operations. 
For example, a system has been known wherein an insulating or 
semi-insulating thin-film structure is provided on a substrate electrode, 
and recording/reproducing operation is performed using this thin-film 
structure, i.e., a fine structure capable of storing electric charges, 
such as an interface between laminated layers of a silicon oxide film and 
a silicon nitride film formed on a silicon substrate, or the like. Another 
system has been known wherein recording/reproducing operation is performed 
in an organic molecular film formed on an electrode, as described, for 
example, in a report (Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology, B9 (2), p. 
1129, 1990) relating to coppertetracyanoquinodimethane (Cu-TCNQ) 
charge-transfer complexes by R. S. Potember of John Hopkins Univ., or in a 
report (Chemical Physics Letters, vol. 29, p. 277, 1988) relating to 
hemiquinones having a double-well potential structure of protons by A. 
Aviram et al of IBM. 
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) show the principle of a recording/reproducing apparatus 
which uses one of the above-described recording mediums. As shown in FIG. 
7(a), when a probe t scans the surface of a recording layer 2 formed on a 
substrate 1 while maintaining a constant height, and a voltage V having at 
least a predetermined threshold value is selectively applied between the 
probe t and the substrate 1 for respective data unit areas, a tunnel 
current having a barrier due to a gap between the probe t and the 
substrate 1 and the recording layer 2, or a gap between the probe t and 
the recording layer 2 is generated to form on-state bits, and binary 
information as shown in FIG. 7(b) is recorded. 
In a reproducing operation, a tunnel current reflecting the electronic 
state of respective data unit areas can be read by sequentially applying a 
voltage less than the above-described predetermined threshold value 
between the probe t and the substrate 1 while scanning the surface of the 
recording layer 2 by the probe 1. It is also possible to reflect recorded 
information in the amount of feedback of the probe t in a tunnel current 
constant mode. 
The above-described conventional approach, however, postulates an ideal 
state wherein no physical undulation influencing the tunnel current is 
present on the surface of the recording medium. If projections and 
recesses are actually present on the surface, a change in the tunnel 
current due to the projections and recesses cannot be discriminated from a 
change in the tunnel current reflecting recorded bits, thereby 
substantially increasing the error rate in a reproducing operation. The 
tunnel current changes exponentially in accordance with the distance 
between the probe t and the recording layer 2. For example, if projections 
and recesses of 1 angstrom are present, the value of the tunnel current 
changes in the range of 1 digit. Hence, even if a change in current due to 
a change in the electronic state of recorded bits is in the range of 3 
digits, the permissible undulation of the surface is a few angstroms at 
most. 
If the spatial frequency of projections and recesses is much larger or 
smaller than the frequency of the recording unit areas, it is possible to 
electrically separate signals. Accordingly, attention must be directed to 
an undulation which has projections and recesses having the same spatial 
frequency zone as the data unit area and which may cause a change in 
tunnel current of the same degree as a change in tunnel current due to the 
recording bits. For example, as shown in FIG. 8(a), if there exist a 
projection at a data unit region d3 and a recess at a data unit region d7, 
an off-state signal may be erroneously read as an on-state signal, and an 
on-state signal may be erroneously read as an off-state signal, as shown 
in FIG. 8(b). 
In order to solve the above-described problem, it is possible to scan the 
surface in advance and record the state of a microscopic undulation of the 
surface to compensate for the influence of the microscopic undulation. 
This approach, however, is not practical, though possible in principle, 
since the amount of initial information relating to the state of 
undulation of data unit areas is very large, and an auxiliary storage 
corresponding to at least the total capacity of a storage medium is 
needed. 
As another approach, a method of reading a modulated signal with respect to 
either the applied bias voltage or the distance between the probe t and 
the substrate 1 may also be considered. Since, in principle, the modulated 
value with respect to the bias voltage or the distance reflects in some 
cases only a particular change in the electronic state or the work 
function of the surface, a reproducing operation not influenced by an 
undulation may be performed. 
It is difficult, however, to obtain a material in which a large change is 
produced in the above-described modulated signal by a change in recording 
bits. Furthermore, superposition of small noise due to thermal drift, 
external oscillation and the like is inevitable, greatly influencing the 
modulated signal. Hence, in order to obtain a measurable S/N ratio, an 
extremely-low-temperature and a highly anti-vibration environment is 
needed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information 
reproducing apparatus which solves the above-described problems, and which 
can perform a correct reading/reproducing operation even if projections 
and recesses are present on the surface of a recording medium. 
The invention is directed to apparatus for reproducing information on a 
recording medium in which a voltage is applied between a probe and the 
recording medium and information is obtained for each of a plurality of 
data unit areas of the recording medium. 
The foregoing and other objects are accomplished, according to one aspect 
of the present invention, by an information reproducing apparatus 
including a recording medium and a reproducing probe for reproducing 
information from a signal between the recording medium and the reproducing 
probe, and further including apparatus for obtaining reproduced 
information under a plurality of conditions for each data unit area of the 
recording medium. 
By obtaining a plurality of different kinds of information by scanning each 
recording region under the plurality of conditions in a reproducing 
operation, it becomes possible to perform correction by discriminating a 
change in a tunnel current reflecting a recording bit from a tunnel 
current caused by projections and recesses of the surface so as to remove 
an error signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Embodiments of the present invention will now be explained in detail with 
reference to FIGS. 1(a)-6(d). 
In the present invention, in order to discriminate characteristics of a 
tunnel-current peculiar to a recording-medium material reflecting a change 
in the electronic structure or state of the surface of the material from 
characteristics of a tunnel current merely reflecting a distance between a 
probe and a substrate in applied voltage-tunnel current characteristics of 
a recording medium shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), or from the distance 
between the probe and the recording medium vs tunnel current 
characteristics shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of reproduced information 
relating to at least one measuring condition, such as the absolute value 
or the polarity of the applied voltage, the distance between the probe and 
the recording medium, or the like, is obtained so as to be able to compare 
the values of tunnel currents at at least two different points on the 
characteristic curves. Alternatively, the value of a tunnel current at one 
point on a characteristic curve, and its modulated value with respect to 
the applied voltage or the distance between the probe and the recording 
medium may be provided as information. 
For that purpose, in the present invention, there is provided apparatus for 
reading a plurality of information from each data unit area. In one 
approach, as shown in FIG. 4(a), different measuring conditions are set 
for two probes t1 and t2 approaching an area less than the size of a data 
unit area, and data unit area B is simultaneously scanned by the probes t1 
and t2. In another approach, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the time for scanning 
a data unit area by a single probe t is divided into two parts, and 
information is reproduced under different measuring conditions for a first 
half time and a second half time. In order to maintain the effective 
measuring distance per condition, the probe t wobbles in a direction 
perpendicular to the scanning direction. In still another approach, an 
apparatus which sweeps a single probe or a plurality of probes a plurality 
of times for every data unit area string or a recording unit area block 
may be considered. In this case, a sub-memory corresponding to the size of 
the block is needed. 
A recording medium according to a method of storing electric charges in an 
interface of insulators will now be specifically explained. In FIG. 5(a), 
a substrate 1 comprises a boron-doped p-type [100] silicon substrate. 
After being washed in H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, the silicon substrate 1 is 
immersed in HCl to form a silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) film to a thickness 
of 10-20 angstroms. Subsequently, a silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) 
film is deposited in vacuum to a thickness of 10-500 angstroms using an 
LPCVD (low-pressure chemical vapor deposition) method. Thus, a recording 
layer 2 comprising the silicon dioxide film and the silicon nitride film 
is obtained. 
For the recording layer 2 thus formed, a bias voltage having at least a 
predetermined threshold value is applied between the substrate 1 and a 
probe so that the probe has a negative potential while maintaining the 
probe at a proper height. A tunnel current is thereby generated between 
the probe and the substrate 1. Part of the tunnel current is trapped in 
interface levels present in an interface between the silicon dioxide and 
the silicon nitride formed on the substrate 1, and remains as charges 
stored in the interface even after the bias voltage has been removed. 
Thus, information to be recorded is written. 
FIG. 1(a) shows tunnel current-bias voltage characteristics before and 
after the charge storage. A bias voltage is applied so that the probe has 
a plus potential in contrast to the writing operation. Before the charge 
storage, the tunnel current Jb has characteristic Jb of increasing 
monotonically as the bias voltage increases. After the charge storage, a 
new channel is established due to non-elastic energy exchange between 
electrons stored in the interface and tunnel electrons. Hence, the tunnel 
current Ja at near the bias voltage corresponding to the energy of the 
interface trap levels increases. 
Accordingly, by performing a reproducing operation near the above-described 
bias voltage, two stable states reflecting the presence and absence of 
stored charges can be read. By applying a voltage having at least the 
threshold value Vth, a tunnel current between the trap levels and the 
probe is generated, and trapped stored electrons are discharged to the 
probe as tunnel electrons, whereby the current characteristic returns to 
the characteristic Jb before the charge storage. Thus, there is provided a 
recording method wherein a memory effect is provided between two stable 
states and switching is performed between the two stable states by 
applying a voltage having at least the threshold value. A state wherein a 
current favorably flows is defined as an on-state, and a state wherein a 
current hardly flows is defined as an off-state. 
In the present embodiment, in order to obtain information reproduced under 
a plurality of different conditions, as shown in FIG. 5(a), voltage 
application apparatus 5 and 6 apply different voltages V1 and V2 between 
two mutually-isolated probes t1 and t2 and a substrate electrode 2, 
respectively. Different kinds of information reproduced from the two 
probes t1 and t2 may be simultaneously obtained by arranging them in a 
direction orthogonal to the scanning direction so that the distance 
between them is shorter than the size of a data unit area, and reproduced 
information for respective unit areas may be compared via a differential 
circuit or the like. 
The probes t1 and t2 can be formed using a micromechanical technique. That 
is, mutually-isolated conductive probe units having an interval of several 
to several tens of nanometers will be formed by implanting a focused ion 
beam of Si on a distal end of a cantilever-like substrate, made of 
SiO.sub.2, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 or the like, having scanning in the X and Y 
directions, fine movement in the height of the Z direction, and a servo 
driving mechanism for selectively growing Si crystals on the substrate, 
and subsequently depositing Au in vacuum to perform conductive processing, 
or using an atomic-level micromanipulation technique utilizing the STM. 
The operation of the present embodiment will now be explained. By 
performing a feedback control in the Z direction by a well-known feedback 
mechanism (not shown) for the component of a spatial frequency lower than 
the frequency of the size of the unit area on the surface of the recording 
layer 2, the probes t1 and t2 sequentially scan each unit area from a 
constant height. In a recording operation, the voltage application 
apparatus 5 applies the optimum voltage V1 for writing to the probe t1 in 
a region where the difference between the tunnel currents in the on-state 
and the off-state is large. While scanning respective data unit areas 
whose initial state is in the off-state, only data unit areas having a 
standard height and no projections and recesses where a standard tunnel 
current flows are selected as valid recording regions. The voltage 
application apparatus 6 applies the write pulse voltage V2 exceeding the 
threshold value to the probe t2 for the respective simultaneously-selected 
valid regions whenever necessary. Thus, digitized binary information is 
recorded by switching necessary regions. This control is performed by a 
control circuit 10. Data unit regions having projections and recesses 
whose spatial frequency is identical to the frequency of the data unit 
region and which therefore cannot be controlled by the feedback control in 
the Z direction are neglected as invalid regions, and information is not 
recorded in these regions. 
When reproducing the information recorded in the above-described manner, it 
is necessary to reproduce information only from regions recognized as 
valid regions in the recording operation, and neglect information from 
regions excluded as invalid regions. Basically, information other than 
that estimated to be information reproduced from valid regions may be 
neglected. However, if the tunnel current in a valid region in the 
on-state equals the tunnel current in a convex invalid region in the 
off-state, the off-state of the convex invalid region may be in some cases 
misread as the on-state of the valid region, as shown in FIG. 5(d). 
In the present embodiment, such a problem is solved by detecting another 
reproduced tunnel current J2 caused by another applied voltage by the 
probe t2. That is, in the current characteristics Ja and Jb for a valid 
region represented by solid lines and the current characteristics Ja' and 
Jb' for a convex invalid region represented by dashed lines shown in the 
current-voltage characteristic diagram of FIG. 1(a), a detected tunnel 
current Jb'(V1) of the convex invalid region in the off-state equals a 
detected tunnel current Ja(V1) in the off-state at a voltage V1 applied to 
the probe t1. However, if a voltage in a region where the difference 
between the current-voltage characteristic Ja(V2) in the on-state and the 
current-voltage characteristic Jb'(V2) can be extracted is selected as a 
voltage V2 to be applied to the probe t2, the two tunnel currents can be 
clearly discriminated. 
In this case, if the voltage V2 is selected within a region V1&lt;V2&lt;Vth, a 
relatively large difference can be extracted. The tunnel current J2 at 
that time is detected as shown in FIG. 5(c). Hence, it is possible to 
determine whether or not the target region is a valid region by checking a 
difference signal .vertline.J2-Ja(V2).vertline. between the current value 
Ja(V2) expected in the on-state of a valid region at the voltage V2 and a 
detected signal J2. 
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5(d), an invalid region may also be 
extracted by detecting a difference signal .vertline.J1-J2.vertline. 
between the probes t1 and t2. In this case, it is possible to make 
.vertline.Ja(V1)-Ja(V2).vertline.=0 by setting the voltages V1 and V2 to 
different values near the peak of the current in the on-state so that the 
difference between .vertline.Ja(V1)-Ja(V2).vertline. and 
.vertline.Jb'(V1)-Jb'(V2).vertline. is large. As a result, the difference 
between .vertline.Ja(V1)-Ja(V2).vertline. and 
.vertline.Jb'(V1)-Jb'(V2).vertline. can be easily extracted. The 
above-described processing is performed by a signal processing circuit 11. 
Signal reproducing processing is performed according to signals only from 
valid regions. 
In the above-described embodiment, the two different probes t1 and t2 
detect currents corresponding to the two different voltages V1 and V2 on 
the current-voltage characteristic curve shown in FIG. 1(a). As another 
approach, a detection current and a differential current with respect to 
the voltage at the voltage V1 may be compared as two different kinds of 
reproduced information. Also in this case, just as a valid region cannot 
be discriminated in some cases from an invalid region only by detection 
current signals, there necessarily exist cases wherein the two regions 
cannot be discriminated only by voltage-modulated components. In such 
cases, discrimination can be performed by comparing a current signal and 
its voltage-modulated component. 
FIG. 1(b) shows differential current characteristics obtained from the 
current-voltage characteristics of FIG. 1(a). While detection currents are 
Ja(V1).noteq.Jb'(V1) at the voltage V1, differential components of the 
currents Ja and Jb' at the voltage V1 do not coincide. Hence, a valid 
region can be discriminated from an invalid region. Even if the 
differential currents coincide, the current values are Ja(V1)=Jb'(V1). 
Hence, discrimination can be performed. A composite detection signal 
obtained from the single probe t1 or t2 may be electrically decomposed 
using a low-pass filter or the like. Alternatively, the two probes t1 and 
t2 may be used. 
As still another approach, in order to obtain reproduced information under 
a plurality of different conditions, as shown in FIG. 6(a), a difference 
.DELTA.Z is provided in the height of the distal ends of the two 
mutually-isolated probes t1 and t2 so that distances Z1 and Z2 to the 
recording layer 2 differ. FIG. 3 shows the relationship of the distance 
between the probe t and the recording layer 2, and the tunnel current j in 
the on-state JA and the off-state JB. In general, the tunnel current j 
increases exponentially as the distance decreases. It is known, however, 
that electrons stored in the interface of the isolated laminated layers 
function as a new tunnel current or perform energy exchange while 
elastically or inelastically interacting with tunnel currents at a 
specific distance between the probe t and the recording layer 2. That is, 
when a specific potential condition is satisfied, in the on-state, a 
peculiar peak characteristic is caused as represented by a curve JA shown 
in FIG. 3. 
In the present embodiment, a difference between the on-state JA and the 
off-state JB is extracted by providing the difference .DELTA.Z between the 
distances Z1 and Z2 from the probes t1 and t2, and the recording layer 2. 
That is, if only the probe t1 at the distance Z1 is used, as shown in FIG. 
6(b), the detection current JA(Z1) from a valid region in the on-state 
equals in some cases the detection current JB(Z1') in a convex invalid 
region in the off-state, and therefore the two currents cannot be 
discriminated. On the other hand, by setting the distance Z2 of the probe 
t2 to Z2=Z1-.DELTA.Z, a difference in characteristics can be extracted as 
shown in FIG. 6(c), and it is possible to determine whether or not the 
target region is a valid region by checking a difference signal 
.vertline.J2-JA(Z2).vertline. between the detection signal J2 and the 
current value JA(Z2) expected for a valid region in the on-state at the 
distance Z2. That is, as shown in FIG. 6(d), an invalid region can be 
extracted by detecting the difference signal .vertline.J1-J2.vertline. 
between the probes t1 and t2. 
Furthermore, discrimination may also be performed by comparing a detection 
current at the voltage V1 and its modulated component with respect to the 
distance Z as two different kinds of reproduced information in the same 
manner as in the above-described case of the modulated component with 
respect to the voltage V. 
In the above-described information reproducing apparatus, it becomes 
possible to perform previously impossible discrimination between a signal 
to be detected and an undulation, that is, physical projections and 
recesses, on the surface of a recording medium whose spatial frequency is 
close to the spatial frequency of a data unit region of the recording 
medium, and therefore to greatly reduce the error rate. 
While, in the above-described embodiments, an explanation has been provided 
of a charge-storage-type recording medium, the present invention is not 
limited to the current-voltage characteristics of the recording medium of 
this type. As another example, FIG. 2 shows current-voltage 
characteristics of the on-state current Ja and the off-state current Jb of 
a copper-tetracyanoquinodimethane (Cu-TCNQ) charge-transfer complex which 
is famous for having a switching phenomenon seen in an organic thin film. 
In the Cu-TCNQ charge-transfer complex, by applying a bias voltage having 
at least a threshold value Vth, the energy band structure changes in 
accordance with charge transfer between acceptor-like TCNQ molecules and 
Cu atoms, and switching can be performed between two metastable states. In 
a limited voltage region below the threshold value, the off-state current 
Jb has a nearly ohmic characteristic, and the on-state current Ja has a 
non-ohmic characteristic. 
The object of the present invention may be achieved by setting the bias 
voltage V1 and V2 as shown in FIG. 2, and comparing reproduced information 
of tunnel currents at the two different bias voltages V1 and V2 in 
substantially same manner as in the above-described case of the 
charge-storage-type recording medium. 
The invention has been described with respect to particular preferred 
embodiments thereof. It is to be understood, however, that various changes 
and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.