The (001) surface of ultra-high vacuum cleaved single MgO crystals was imaged using dynamic mode scanning force microscopy. Large-scale images revealed various defects, like steps of mostly one atomic height, rectangular holes of nm size and some complex adstructures. First time images with atomic resolution show one square ionic sub-lattice in its bulk-like dimension with a corrugation of up to 40pm along the <001> direction. Most images exhibit atomic point defects which appear as depressions including a few ionic lattice sites proving that point defects were stable on flat terraces.

Atomic Resolution Imaging of the (001) Surface of UHV Cleaved MgO by Dynamic Scanning Force Microscopy. C.Barth, C.R.Henry: Physical Review Letters, 2003, 91[19], 196102 (3pp)