skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: 2017 Report for New LANL Physical Vapor Deposition Capability

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1396164· OSTI ID:1396164

There is an urgent need at LANL to achieve uniform, thin film actinide targets that are essential for nuclear physics experiments. The target preparation work is currently performed externally by Professor Walter Loveland at Oregon State University, who has made various evaporated actinide targets such as Th and U for use on several nuclear physics measurements at LANSCE. We are developing a vapor deposition capability, with the goal of evaporating Th and U in the Actinide Research Facility (ARF) at TA-48. In the future we plan to expand this work to evaporating transuranic elements, such as Pu. The ARF is the optimal location for evaporating actinides because this lab is specifically dedicated to actinide research. There are numerous instruments in the ARF that can be used to provide detailed characterization of the evaporated thin films such as: Table top Scanning Electron Microscope, In-situ X-Ray Diffraction, and 3D Raman spectroscopy. These techniques have the ability to determine the uniformity, surface characterization, and composition of the deposits.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1396164
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-29015
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English