Study on Ion Beam Machining of Diamond Tools

金刚石工具可用作超微切割机和眼科仪器的刀具，单点金刚石工具可用于铝等软材料的超精密车削。这些工具通常是通过机械抛光制成的，也就是说，使用细小的钻石粉末和一块软质材料的垫板。然而，将此工艺应用于尖端半径为10 nm(纳米)的锋利刃口的金刚石工具的抛光是非常困难的。本文讨论了一种机械研磨与离子束加工相结合的刃口成形新工艺，并用带有两个二次电子探测器的轮廓扫描电子显微镜测量了金刚石工具的刀尖半径，得到了如下结果：(1)用轮廓扫描电子显微镜可以测量金刚石刀具的刀尖半径，所成形的金刚石刀具的刀尖半径小于20 nm；(2)用20keV的Ar离子可以加工出顶角为50度的金刚石刀具。(3)用离子束加工可以很容易地获得刃口锋利而笔直，表面形貌很好的金刚石刀具。

Diamond tools can be used as knives of an ultramicrotome and ophthalmic sergon's instrument, and single point diamond tools for ultraprecision turning of soft materials such as aluminum. The tools are usually made by mechanical polishing; that is, using fine diamond powder and a lap-plate of soft materials. However it is very difficult to apply this process to the polishing of diamond tools having a sharp cutting edge of tip radius of ten nm (nanometer). In this study, a new edge forming process combined mechanical lapping with ion beam machining and measurment of the tip radius of diamond tools using the profile SEM having two secondary electron detectors were discussed, and the following results are obtained.(1) The tip radius of the diamond tools can be measured using profile SEM, and the tip radius of the formed diamond tools is considered less than 20 nm.(2) The diamond knives having apex angle of 50 degrees can be formed with 20 keV Ar ions.(3) Diamond tools having sharp and straight dege and fine surface topography can be easily obtaibed by ion beam machining.