Characterization of poly- and single-crystal uranium-molybdenum alloy thin films

Poly- and single-crystal thin films of U-Mo alloys have been grown both on glass and sapphire substrates by ultra-high vacuum magnetron sputtering. X-ray and Electron Backscatter Diffraction data indicate that for single-crystal U1 − xMox alloys, the pure cubic uranium γ-phase exists for x ≥ 0.22 (10 wt.% Mo). Below 10 wt.% Mo concentration, the resulting thin film alloys exhibited a mixed α-γ uranium phase composition.