Special Notice NAICS 334413

High-Quality Actinide Thin Films via Molecular Beam Epitaxy for Quantum and Optoelectronic Devices Description Researchers at INL have developed a process to deposit high-quality epitaxial crystalline thin films of uranium and thorium, as well as their nitrides, using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). MBE is a non-equilibrium vacuum deposition technique that provides precise control over the composition and interfaces of the material, making it ideal for fabricating high-purity, defect-free, single-crystalline thin films. Actinide thin films, particularly those of uranium and thorium, present significant challenges for ab initio modeling due to their complex electron correlations. High-quality samples are essential for providing feedback to develop accurate models. Additionally, the strong electron correlations in actinide materials make them promising candidates for next-generation computing technologies. By tuning the growth parameters, including temperature, pressure, growth rate, and flux ratios, researchers can controllably form high-quality actinide thin films. This technique also allows for seamless integration with existing semiconductor technology, facilitating the development...

Notice ID: 1a561f63a22244e4a38603b6699b1a7b · View on SAM.gov ↗