People

Peter Hartwell

E-mail: peter.hartwell@hp.com

Location:
Quantum Structures Research
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
Palo Alto, California
 

Biography:
Trained in the field of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) Peter joined HP Labs in 1999 to work on the atomic resolution storage (ARS) program. ARS sought to miniaturize a CD-RW like storage system on a single silicon chip creating a new type of non-volatile, solid state storage

MEMS is a field where mechanical, optical, and fluidic devices are built on silicon chips using most of the same tools used to make integrated electrical circuits. On ARS, Peter helped develop the Micromover, a platform capable of holding the storage bits and moving them relative to the read-write heads. Unlike the rotating disc, the Micromover moves laterally in X and Y directions. The Micromover is capable of picometer positioning accuracy opening the door for single molecule bits and storage densities far higher than hard disk drives, optical disc drives, and flash memory. Precision positioning is the key to getting beyond the super-paramagnetic limit of magnetic storage or the lithography limits of typical solid state memories.

With the HP/Agilent split in 2000 most of the MEMS technology research was transferred to Agilent Labs. Peter helped build a fabrication facility at the Palo Alto campus to maintain a MEMS core competency at HP Labs. The facility produced the first working Micromovers and helped prototype the read-write mechanisms used in ARS.

Not satisfied to merely design and fabricate devices, Peter also has a passion for testing and characterizing the new structures. As he explains, "So much of the early work in MEMS was making a mechanical structure and taking a pretty picture. People considered the fabrication the whole journey. No one was looking at did this new device do what it was supposed to do!" The infancy of the field meant there were no commercial tools for measuring device performance of this new type of silicon chip. Working closely with others in HP Labs, a unique set of tools was created to test the creations that were being built. The resulting measurements are then compared to the designs and computer simulations closing an important feedback loop in the development cycle. The MEMS characterization facility was key to the success of the Micromover and the development of ARS.

With a lab wide reorganization in 2005, the MEMS group merged with QSR. Their strong background in the microscale systems and integration will help bridge the gap between the nanoworld of QSR research and the macroworld of computers and consumer products. The combined group has a complete and unique set of tools that is already starting to make an impact on the future.

He joined the QSR group at HP Labs in 2005.

Education:
B.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, 1992 Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, 1999

Hobbies:
Classic computers, snowboarding, cycling, fixing things.

Links:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/iplicensing/ars.html