AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON A MANDREL-BASED DIAMOND POLISHING CONFIGURATION

摘要

This paper presents a new diamond-polishing configuration for fabricating miniature, high aspect ratio structures with sharp edges on single-crystal diamond. A cast-iron mandrel charged with diamond powder is used as the polishing tool. An ultra-high-speed spindle is used to provide the required surface speeds while using a small-diameter mandrel. First, a preliminary study is conducted to illustrate the capability of the new polishing configuration in removing single-crystal diamond material, creating sharp edges, and attaining smooth surfaces. Next, the effects of powder grit size and polishing path on the amount of material removal and surface roughness are studied. The variation of the edge quality with the grit size is examined. Based on the preliminary results, it is concluded that the mandrel-based diamond polishing configuration can be used to remove sufficient amount of material, create sharp edges (< 1 μm edge radius), and attain smooth surfaces (< 20 nm Ra).