  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.
