The Millepede is an invention of the researchers of IBM of the laboratory of Zurich.

Technology is called MEMS (microphone-electrical-mechanical system), but the Swiss researchers called their small invention " Millepede" (Millepede in French). The nickname comes owing to the fact that the machine uses thousands of " pointes" in Silicium which induces each one a bit of data on a layer in Polymère. It allows a storage of 125  Go on 6,45  mm ² with a flow of transfer of 800  Gbits a second, according to the last tests on technology.

Millepede is regarded as adapted perfectly to the mobile devices since such apparatuses MEMS can be connected on storage mediums flash, but with a storage capacity multi gigabits and a consumption of only 100 milliwatts.

According to IBM, this technology is entirely integrable in the new machines of pockets, as a memory card great capacity, for readers MP3, PDA, keys USB…

At the time of its presentation in June 2000, Millepede rested on techniques of micro machining of Silicium making it possible to make pass with precision a substrate of Silicium covered with a fine polymer film in lower part of a whole of 1  024 write heads/reading of 20  Nm addressed individually and also made out of silicon.

Millepede uses reduced techniques MEMS in order to locate physically and to melt of the openings in a polymer located above a removable substrate silicon. The sites of bits are addressed by moving the substrate in lower part of the head desired read/write, which is then heated. The static tension dissolves polymer, thus carrying out an opening, which can be read later on head consequently when it is not heated. Since the polymer is not destroyed but solely not moved, obliteration is operated by using the head to melt polymer moved until it again runs in the opening. More than 4000 small silicone points are heated before being put in contact with very fine polymer film. These points measure 10  Nm of width. These points result from the technology of microscopes AFM (to atomic force) and STM (for purpose of tunnel).