Patent ID: 7397754

Claim:
A micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) based data storage system comprising a storage module, where said storage module includes: a stationary data storage medium; an array of MEMS cantilever devices, each of said MEMS cantilever devices having an associated tip wherein said array of MEMS cantilevers devices is arranged adjacent to a data surface; a CMOS device coupled to said array, said CMOS device having circuits arranged to receive signals from said MEMS cantilever devices; a motion generator coupled to said CMOS device, said motion generator operable over an area of 100 μm×100 μm; a first guide rail slidably coupled to said motion generator; a first magnetic actuator associated with said first guide rail and magnetically coupled to said motion generator to linearly move said motion generator up to 10 cm in a first direction relative to said data storage medium; a second guide rail slidably coupled to said motion generator, said second guide rail being arranged generally perpendicular to said first guide rail; a second magnetic actuator associated with said second guide rail and magnetically coupled to said array of MEMS cantilever devices to linearly move said array of MEMS cantilever devices up to 10 cm in a second direction relative to said data storage medium wherein said second direction is perpendicular to said first direction and in a plane parallel to said data storage medium; wherein said first and second guide rails are arranged to independently move said array of MEMS cantilever devices in said first and second direction simultaneously.