Fabrication and Electronic Transport Measurements of Thin Layers of the Type-II Dirac Semimetal Platinum Ditelluride PtTe₂

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as PtTe₂ have gained attention for their unique structural, optical, and electronic properties. In this research, thin PtTe₂ electronic devices were fabricated through mechanical exfoliation and characterized using several techniques including Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Raman Spectroscopy. Exfoliation with 1007R adhesive tape combined with substrate heating provided the highest yield of device-quality flakes. EDS confirmed the Pt:Te stoichiometry, while AFM established correlations between flake thickness and optical contrast. Raman spectroscopy identified the characteristic E_g (~110 cm⁻¹) and A_1g (~157 cm⁻¹) vibrational modes consistent with the literature. Together, these methods establish reliable approaches for identifying and characterizing thin PtTe₂ crystals for device fabrication. We will present different approaches for obtaining a good electrical contact to PtTe2 and preliminary electronic transport measurements. These efforts go towards the longer term objective of fabricating devices of thin crystals of the Cr_xPt_1-xTe₂ family of materials, that are known to be ferromagnetic in the bulk up to a temperature of 220 K and preserve some of the topological properties of the parent crystal PtTe₂.