By using capacitive displacement sensors for feedback, an ultra-stable, linear, non-hysteretic multi-degree-of-freedom scanning stage can be used to provide nanometer precision raster scanning to evaluate state-of-the-art media and MR transducers.

Below is an image of advanced magnetic storage media taken with a novel scanning probe microscope in which a commercial magneto-resistive (MR) head is used as the sense element. The graphs on the right are horizontal cuts through the image at the indicated points. The bit patterns were recorded at IBM on a spin stand at the bits-spacings indicated.