The Effect of Rare Earth on the Clearance of Carbon during High Speed Polishing of Diamond Films

Abstract

A new setup for polishing of diamond films on a high speed rotating stainless plate has been developed, and a rare earth metal plate was used to clear the carbon atoms diffused into the polishing plate. The surface morphology and clearance mechanism were studied by using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy before and after polishing, respectively. The results showed that the chemical reaction between the rare earth metal and carbon diffused into the polishing plate took place and the rare earth metal could clear the carbon element effectively during the super-high speed polishing.