Atomic-scale surface of fused silica induced by chemical mechanical polishing with controlled size spherical ceria abrasives. (6th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Guanghong; Zhang, Zhenyu; Meng, Fanning; Liu, Lu; Liu, Dongdong; Shi, Chunjing; Cui, Xiangxiang; Wang, Jianmei; Wen, Wei
• Is Part Of: Journal of manufacturing processes. Volume 85(2023)
• Page Start: 783
• Page End: 792
• Publication Date: 2023-01-06
• Subjects: Fused silica -- Chemical mechanical polishing -- CeO2 -- Na2CO3 -- Deionized water; Production management -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Manufacturing processes -- Periodicals; Procestechnologie; Productietechniek; Production -- Gestion -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Fabrication -- Périodiques; Manufacturing processes; Production management -- Data processing; Periodicals; 670.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmapro.2022.12.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1526-6125

Abstract

Abstract: Fused silica is widely used in precision optical devices for its excellent optical properties. However, it has hard and brittle nature, becoming a difficult-to-process material. This makes microscopic cracks left on the processed surface of silica induced by traditional mechanical processing methods. In this regard, it is a challenge to achieve an atomic-scale surface on silica. To overcome this challenge, nanometer CeO2 abrasives with uniform shape and size were prepared via a hydrothermal method. A novel chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) slurry is developed using the prepared CeO2 abrasives, Na2 CO3 and deionized water, which is low-cost, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. The surface roughness, Sa of fused silica after CMP is 0.093 nm with a scanning area of 20 × 20 μm 2 . To the best of our knowledge, it is the lowest surface roughness on silica after CMP. The CMP mechanism was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared Fourier transformation. Under alkaline conditions, the abrasives interacted with the silica forming a CeOSi reaction product, through a chemical tooth action, which is significant to produce an atomic-scale surface on silica. These findings provide a new pathway to fabricate atomic-scale surface for a hard-brittle solid.