Novel Techinques for Polishing Diamond Films

金刚石薄膜合成的最新进展增加了金刚石涂层表面在光学、热管理设备和移动机械组件等众多应用中的应用的可能性。具体的例子包括；望远镜，夜视透镜，高功率激光光学，激光二极管，多芯片模块的散热装置和用于改善磨损，增强润滑和防腐蚀的涂层在移动系统中。使用CVD方法生长的金刚石薄膜的一个主要缺点是它们是多晶的，因此通常倾向于具有粗糙的表面形貌。这种表面粗糙度的变化引起光的散射，从而降低了光学在许多应用中的有用性。抛光是一种可以减少这种散射的方法。由于金刚石的高硬度，传统的抛光方法只能略微有效。在第一阶段的努力中，材料改性公司（MMI）成功地证明了使用非接触抛光方法抛光cvd金刚石膜的可行性。初步结果表明，表面粗糙度可以在几百秒内从5-10微米降低到几纳米。在第二阶段，MMI打算通过优化大面积抛光的工艺参数，对激光抛光方法进行全面研究。MMI将利用这一加工经验，演示制作用于高质量金刚石窗的抛光CVD金刚石膜。＊＊＊

9315677 Malshe Recent advances in the synthesis of diamond films have enhanced the possibility for the use of diamond coated surfaces in numerous applications that include optics, thermal management devices and moving mechanical assemblies. Specific examples include; telescopes, night vision lenses, high power laser optics, laser diodes, heat spreading devices for multichip modules and coatings for improved wear, enhanced lubricity and corrosion protection in moving systems. One major disadvantage of diamond films grown using CVD methods is that they are polycrystalline and thus usually tend to have a rough surface morphology. This variation in surface roughness causes scattering of light, thereby reducing the usefulness of optics in many applications. Polishing is one approach by which this scattering can be reduced. Conventional approaches to polishing are only marginally efficient because of the high hardness associated with diamond. In the Phase-I effort, Materials Modification Inc. (MMI), successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using a non-contact polishing method for the polishing of CVD-diamond films. Preliminary results demonstrated that surface roughness can be reduced from 5-10 um to a few nanometers within a few hundred seconds. In Phase II, MMI intends to comprehensively study the laser polishing method by optimizing the process parameters for large area polishing. This experience in processing will then be used by MMI for demonstrating the fabrication of polished CVD diamond films for high quality diamond windows. ***