Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus comprising:a substrate having one or more anchors formed thereon;a movable platform suspended by one or more tether beams from the one or more anchors;an actuator coupled to the movable platform; anda micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) probe having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the proximal end is coupled to the movable platform and the distal end can be actuated in a direction substantially normal to a surface of the substrate. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more tether beams have a stiffness that is substantially higher in one direction than in others. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the movable platform can move in one or both of two orthogonal directions in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a media mover supported above the MEMS probe, wherein the media mover can move relative to the substrate in one or both of a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe and a direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe. 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the movable platform can move a tip at or near the distal end of the MEMS probe in a direction substantially normal to the direction of movement of the media mover. 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the movable platform can move the tip a distance approximately equal to or greater than one track spacing. 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the actuator comprises a parallel plate actuator, a comb-finger drive, or a surface vernier drive. 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the MEMS probe comprises a cantilever. 9. A system comprising:a processor having a first memory coupled thereto, wherein the first memory is selected from a group consisting of random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous random access memory (SRAM) and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM); anda second memory coupled to the processor, the second memory comprising:a substrate having one or more anchors formed thereon,a movable platform suspended by one or more tether beams from the one or more anchors,an actuator coupled to the movable platform,a micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) probe having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the proximal end is coupled to the movable platform and the distal end can be actuated in a direction substantially normal to a surface of the substrate, anda media mover supported above the MEMS probe and substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate, wherein the media mover moves relative to the substrate in one or both of a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe and a direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe. 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the movable platform can move in one or both of two orthogonal directions in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. 11. The system of claim 9 wherein the movable platform can move a tip at or near the distal end of the MEMS probe in a direction substantially normal to the direction of movement of the media mover. 12. The system of claim 11 wherein the movable platform can move the tip a distance approximately equal to or greater than one track spacing. 13. The system of claim 9 wherein the MEMS probe comprises a cantilever. 14. A process comprising:forming one or more anchors on a substrate;suspending a movable platform by one or more tether beams coupled to the one or more anchors;coupling an actuator to the movable platform; andcoupling a micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) probe to the movable platform, the MEMS probe having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the proximal end is coupled to the movable platform and the distal end can be actuated in a direction substantially normal to a surface of the substrate. 15. The process of claim 14, further comprising supporting a media mover above the MEMS probe, wherein the media mover can move relative to the substrate in one or both of a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe and a direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the MEMS probe. 16. The process of claim 14 wherein the movable platform can move in one or both of two orthogonal directions in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate. 17. The process of claim 16 wherein the movable platform can move a tip at or near the distal of the MEMS probe in a direction substantially normal to the direction of movement of the media mover. 18. The process of claim 17 wherein the movable platform can move the tip a distance approximately equal to or greater than one track spacing. 19. The process of claim 14 wherein the MEMS probe comprises a cantilever.