The Band Excitation Method in Scanning Probe Microscopy for Rapid Mapping of Energy Dissipation on the Nanoscale

TL;DR

This paper introduces a band excitation scanning probe microscopy technique that rapidly maps energy dissipation at the nanoscale by exciting a range of frequencies simultaneously, enabling detailed energy transfer analysis.

Contribution

A novel BE SPM method that acquires full frequency response quickly, allowing direct measurement of energy dissipation and broad applicability across SPM types.

Findings

Enables rapid full-frequency response acquisition at each image point

Allows direct measurement of energy dissipation via Q-factor

Demonstrated sensitivity close to thermomechanical limit

Abstract

Mapping energy transformation pathways and dissipation on the nanoscale and understanding the role of local structure on dissipative behavior is a challenge for imaging in areas ranging from electronics and information technologies to efficient energy production. Here we develop a novel Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) technique in which the cantilever is excited and the response is recorded over a band of frequencies simultaneously rather than at a single frequency as in conventional SPMs. This band excitation (BE) SPM allows very rapid acquisition of the full frequency response at each point (i.e. transfer function) in an image and in particular enables the direct measurement of energy dissipation through the determination of the Q-factor of the cantilever-sample system. The BE method is demonstrated for force-distance and voltage spectroscopies and for magnetic dissipation imaging with sensitivity close to the thermomechanical limit. The applicability of BE for various SPMs is analyzed, and the method is expected to be universally applicable to all ambient and liquid SPMs.