Submicrometer-thick UTe2 flake achieved by mechanical exfoliation.

Abstract

Incorporating uranium ditelluride (UTe₂), the leading candidate for topological superconductor, into device platforms is essential for probing its underlying physics and exploring potential applications. The presence of natural cleavage planes in non-van der Waals (vdW) UTe₂ suggests the feasibility of mechanical exfoliation to obtain flat and thin flakes suitable for device fabrication. In this work, we demonstrate the successful exfoliation of UTe₂ down to sub-micron thickness and the fabrication of electrical contacts on the resulting flakes. The electrical transport properties measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field are broadly consistent with the expected crystallographic orientations. Furthermore, the exfoliated flakes are sufficiently thin to allow measurements of superconducting critical current and surface oxidation, which are difficult to probe in bulk crystals. These findings elucidate key considerations in UTe₂ device fabrication and highlight the broader applicability of our exfoliation approach to other non-vdW materials with intrinsic easy-cleavage planes.