Abstract
Crack nucleation and propagation in SrTiO3 single crystal were observed at the atomic level by in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) loading experiment with a MEMS loading device. It was found that a crack initiated from the bottom of a notch and propagated along the {110} plane. The fracture toughness for the {110} crack was estimated to be KIC=1.4MPam1/2 based on the measured crack opening displacement. In addition, an atomic structure model of the {110} fracture surface was constructed based on the experimental observations, and first-principles calculations showed that its cleavage energy was γ=3.8Jm-2. From the relationship of KIC=(2γE)1/2 (E: Young’s modulus), the fracture toughness is estimated to be =1.4MPam, which agrees well with the experimental value.
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