English

Dynamic Multiband Microscopy: A Universal Paradigm for Quantitative Nanoscale Metrology

Materials Science 2026-01-21 v1

Abstract

Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) is the primary tool for exploring nanoscale functionality, yet standard single-frequency operation is fundamentally limited, because the dynamic tip-sample interaction is mathematically underdetermined. While advanced methods such as Dual Amplitude Resonance Tracking (DART) and Band Excitation (BE) address this by tracking resonance, they face critical limitations: DART suffers from feedback instability on complex topographies, while Band Excitation is constrained by severe trade-offs between spectral resolution and acquisition speed. Here, we introduce Dynamic Multiband Microscopy (DMM), a general framework that bridges these gaps by combining multifrequency excitation with continuous frequency sweeping. We implement this within an automated experimental workflow that autonomously identifies and targets measurement points of interest. In combination with quantitative interferometric detection, this approach brings SPM to the fundamental limits of noise and spectral sensitivity. Validated on ferroelectric nanofibers, this platform enables simultaneous, crosstalk-free 3D polarization mapping, establishing a universal framework for autonomous, high-fidelity nanoscale metrology.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.13960,
  title  = {Dynamic Multiband Microscopy: A Universal Paradigm for Quantitative Nanoscale Metrology},
  author = {Boris N. Slautin and Alwikh Rohi and Sanjay Mathur and Arun Ichangi and Sergei V. Kalinin and Doru C. Lupascu and Vladimir V. Shvartsman},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.13960},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 4 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T09:12:28.548Z