Ultra-Smooth Polishing of Single-Crystal Silicon Carbide by Pulsed-Ion-Beam Sputtering of Quantum-Dot Sacrificial Layers

Single-crystal silicon carbide has excellent electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. However, due to its high hardness material properties, achieving high-precision manufacturing of single-crystal silicon carbide with an ultra-smooth surface is difficult. In this work, quantum dots were introduced as a sacrificial layer in polishing for pulsed-ion-beam sputtering of single-crystal SiC. The surface of single-crystal silicon carbide with a quantum-dot sacrificial layer was sputtered using a pulsed-ion beam and compared with the surface of single-crystal silicon carbide sputtered directly. The surface roughness evolution of single-crystal silicon carbide etched using a pulsed ion beam was studied, and the mechanism of sacrificial layer sputtering was analyzed theoretically. The results show that direct sputtering of single-crystal silicon carbide will deteriorate the surface quality. On the contrary, the surface roughness of single-crystal silicon carbide with a quantum-dot sacrificial layer added using pulsed-ion-beam sputtering was effectively suppressed, the surface shape accuracy of the Ø120 mm sample was converged to 7.63 nm RMS, and the roughness was reduced to 0.21 nm RMS. Therefore, the single-crystal silicon carbide with the quantum-dot sacrificial layer added via pulsed-ion-beam sputtering can effectively reduce the micro-morphology roughness phenomenon caused by ion-beam sputtering, and it is expected to realize the manufacture of a high-precision ultra-smooth surface of single-crystal silicon carbide.

Optimization of the Morphology of the Removal Function for Rotating Abrasive Water Jet Polishing

Abrasive water jet polishing has significant advantages in the manufacturing of complex optical components (such as high-slope optical component cavities) that require high-precision manufacturing. This is due to its processing process, in which the polishing tool does not make direct contact with the surface of the workpiece, and instead maintains a considerable distance. However, the removal functions of most existing abrasive water-jet polishing technologies do not possess strict symmetry, which significantly impacts the ability to correct surface figure errors. Therefore, this study implements rotating abrasive water-jet polishing based on traditional abrasive water jet processing to optimize the removal function, which turns it into a Gaussian form; thus, obtaining a type of removal function more suitable for CCOS polishing. This paper derives an empirical formula between the distance s' from the peak removal point of the removal function to the stagnation point and the nozzle tilt angle α, based on geometric relationships and experimental results, analyzes the relationship between material removal efficiency, nozzle tilt angle, and standoff distance. Finally, this paper verifies through experiments the validity of this empirical formula under different process parameters. Therefore, this study obtains the process conditions that allow rotating abrasive water-jet polishing technology to achieve a stable Gaussian form removal function, and the appropriate process parameters to be selected in conjunction with polishing efficiency; thereby, effectively improving the removal function's corrective ability and manufacturing efficiency. It provides theoretical support for the processing capability and process parameter selection of abrasive water-jet polishing technology, solves the problem of limited shaping capability of existing abrasive water jet tools, and significantly improves the manufacturing capability of high-end optical components.