Energy dissipation measurements in frequency-modulated scanning probe microscopy.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Physics

Background:

• Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is increasingly used to study energy dissipation and hysteresis.
• Quantifying dissipation signals in SPM remains a challenge due to a lack of standardization.
• Tip-surface interactions are crucial for understanding magnetic, electrical, and structural transformations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate magnetic dissipation imaging of yttrium-iron garnet (YIG) using SPM.
• To identify and address the challenge of crosstalk in dissipation measurements.
• To develop a reliable method for accurate quantification of dissipation signals.

Main Methods:

• Utilized scanning probe microscopy for magnetic dissipation imaging of a YIG sample.
• Employed multiple similar but non-identical cantilever probes.
• Analyzed frequency-dependent dispersion and its impact on conservative and dissipative channels.
• Developed and applied a novel correction method for crosstalk effects.

Main Results:

• Observed significant crosstalk between frequency and dissipation channels due to cantilever-dependent behavior.
• Crosstalk was evident in YIG dissipation images, a common issue in heterodyne detection schemes.
• The developed correction technique yielded self-consistent results for YIG dissipation measurements.

Conclusions:

• Cantilever-dependent crosstalk is an inherent challenge in SPM dissipation imaging, particularly when conservative and dissipative components are correlated.
• The proposed correction method effectively mitigates crosstalk, enabling accurate magnetic dissipation measurements.
• This technique is expected to be applicable to various systems, including atomic-level dissipation imaging.