Mirror Finishing of SiC by UV-Assisted Constant-Pressure Grinding

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a next-generation semiconductor material. However, SiC is difficult to machine because it has high mechanical hardness and chemical inertness. Therefore, high-quality processing technology with high efficiency is now required. In our previous study, the authors developed UV-assisted grinding method and clarified that the critical depth of cut is expanded by UV irradiation and that the surface roughness is reduced by applying this method with a composite-abrasive wheel containing diamond abrasive grains with a mean abrasive diameter of 6 μm. On the other hand, it is important to reduce the damaged layer left by lapping or polishing process after grinding. In this study, we developed UV-assisted constant-pressure grinding method as a new alterative processing method to lapping and polishing. In this method, UV-assisted grinding is applied to the constant-pressure grinding method. To obtain a higher-quality mirror surface, we used a superabrasive wheel containing diamond abrasive grains with a mean abrasive diameter of 0.5 μm. By investigating the influence of UV irradiation on processing characteristics, we clarified that the surface roughness and removal height were reduced by UV irradiation. Finally, a high quality surface with few grinding marks was obtained by UV-assisted constant-pressure grinding.