Chemical Vapor Deposition of 

Uranium Ditelluride (UTe2) 

By: Kimia Samieinejad
Outline:

● Goal

● Background

● Chemical Vapor Deposition of UTe2

○ Software Simulation

○ Experimental Setup

● Future Work

● Summary
What is our goal?

Grow thin films of actinides particularly UTe2

Citation Kevin D Vallejo et al 2022 Rep. 

Prog. Phys. 85 123101

DOI 10.1088/1361-6633/ac968e
Why?

● Thin Films?

● UTe2?

● Chemical Vapor

Deposition?

Thin Films Deposition

https://www.micronit.com/manufacturing/capa

bilities/thin-film-deposition
Thin Films (10^-9 m)

https://streuter.com/tim

tel-thermal-interfacematerials/siltel-thermalinterface-silicone-filmmaterials-electronicscooling/

Image Credit: Laremenko 

Sergii/Shutterstock.com
UTe2

, a spin triplet superconductor

Two types of superconducting electron pairs

https://rdreview.jaea.go.jp/review_en/2020/e

2020_3_3.html

Image Credit: F. 

Webber/NIST

UTe2(CVT, Corey Frank)
UTe2 and Quantum Computers?!

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/microsoft-has-demonstrated-theunderlying-physics-required-to-create-a-new-kind-of-qubit/

(Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL)w54657r43www
What exactly is Chemical Vapor Deposition?

Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture. 3. 

10.1186/s40538-016-0070-8.

CNT: Carbon 

Nanotubes
What are we going to do differently in our 

experiments compared to others?

● Monitor and control the reaction on real-time

A basic block diagram of the elements in a single beam UV-Visible spectrometer

https://jascoinc.com/learning-center/theory/spectroscopy/uv-visspectroscopy/instrumentation/
Developing a Simulation Software

Why do we need a simulation software?

Chemical Vapor 

Deposition Diffusion coefficient Dk 

of a particle k in a gas

Rate of mass 

Transport

Gas Flow State

Equilibrium 

Constant

Temperature & 

Pressure

Fluid Dynamics

Chemistry of the 

reaction

Optimization
UO2

(s) + 2Cl2(g) ↔ UCl4(g) +O2(g)

GROWTH OF URANIUM DIOXIDE 

SINGLE CRYSTALS BY CHEMICAL 

VAPOR DEPOSITION* R. N. SINGH 

and R. L. COBLE

Time (hr)

Mass Transport Rat of UO2 (mol/s)
Predicting the thickness of UO2 on the substrate over time
Mass transport rate (mol/s) vs Time (hr) UTe2

8.8e-12 mol/s

Experimental Setup

Changed high 

temperature 

thermal insulator
Experimental Setup Continued

Deposition Chamber

Exhaust Side In Take Side

Replaced

Plastic Cage -> 

Safety
Next Steps

● Standard Operating Procedure

● Advancing the Software

● Completing the set up

● Testing

● Growing UTe2thin films

https://angstromengineering.com/tech/chemical-vapordeposition/
Let’s Summarize!

● Chemical Vapor Deposition of UTe2

○ Software Simulation

○ Experimental Setup

● Future Work

Thin Films Deposition

https://www.micronit.com/manufacturing/capa

bilities/thin-film-deposition
Sources

Ran, Sheng. “Unboxing a New Spin-Triplet Superconductor.” NIST, 10 Nov. 2021, www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/unboxing-new-spin-triplet-superconductor.

Kylie Foy        |    Haley Wahl  |  MIT Lincoln Laboratory. “Superconducting Qubit Foundry Accelerates Progress in Quantum 

Research.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, news.mit.edu/2023/superconducting-qubit-foundry-accelerates-progress-quantum-research-0705. Accessed 30 July 

2023.

“3-3 Clarifying the Mechanism behind Superconductivity in Uranium Compounds.” 3-3 Clarifying the Mechanism behind Superconductivity in Uranium Compounds | JAEA R&D 

Review 2020-21, rdreview.jaea.go.jp/review_en/2020/e2020_3_3.html. Accessed 30 July 2023.

“Quantum Computers Could Be Even More Powerful with Latest Discovery.” Yahoo! Finance, finance.yahoo.com/news/quantum-computers-could-even-more213108221.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACTgdHI8mAyzR6DVZ2QNq3eaNQynW0rYlgyfeE1SGXbymr5hzAhUw4JVQ3_zDaVL8hqQRpvgKJWlp1VA0vcxbRgi8PE_xy75PqXNIoLaDJqritLIIQSqQlGwnA9IZLWTHDuHSURKTJQo

btZVKdu7bclKqEHv_SdyWZHuJTcQh7M. Accessed 30 July 2023.

Dobkin, Daniel Mark, and Michael K. Zuraw. Principles of Chemical Vapor Deposition: What’s Going on inside the Reactor. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.

“What Is Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)?” Global Supplier of Sputtering Targets and Evaporation Materials | Stanford Advanced Materials, 29 June 2023, 

www.sputtertargets.net/blog/what-is-chemical-vapor-deposition-cvd.html.

Singh, et al. “Growth of Uranium Dioxide Single Crystals by Chemical Vapor Deposition.” Journal of Crystal Growth, 24 July 2002,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002202487490013X.

Nearly Ferromagnetic Spin-Triplet Superconductivity | Science, www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aav8645. Accessed 31 July 2023.

Advances in Actinide Thin Films: Synthesis, Properties ... - Iopscience, iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6633/ac968e. Accessed 31 July 2023.
Acknowledgements

Butch Lab:

Nicholas Butch, Corey Frank, Thomas Halloran, Peter Czajka, Sylvia Lewin, Gicela 

Saucedo, Patrick Chen, Rayan Daroowalla, Elan Moskowitz, Maximilian Shen

NCNR:

Susana Marujo Teixeira, Julie Borchers, Leland Harriger

MML

SURF:

SURF Directors, SURF Program Director Cara O’Malley 

CHRNS