A survey of fractured SrTiO₃ surfaces: from the micro-meter to nano-meter scale

Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy was utilized to study fractured perovskie oxide surfaces. It was found for the non-cleavable perovskite oxide, SrTiO$_{3}$, that atomically flat terraces could be routinely created with a controlled fracturing procedure. Optical and scanning electron microscopy as well as a profilometer were used to obtain the information from sub-millimeter to sub-micrometer scales of the fractured surface topography.