Reversible electrical modification on conductive polymer for proximity probe data storage

Reversible electrical modification of a conductive polymer is studied for ultrahigh density data storage based on a scanning probe microscope (SPM). Using a surface-initiated polymerization (SIP) method, a thin polyaniline film is formed from a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on an Au surface. The conductivity of the film is reversibly changed by applying a voltage between a SPM probe and the film, depending on the polarity of the applied voltage. This reversible electrical modification is considered to originate in the oxidation-reduction reaction or protonation-deprotonation reaction of PANI from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement.