The Mechanics of Nanometric Cutting

人们对在纳米范围内制造尺寸精度和获得原子级平滑表面的能力越来越感兴趣，没有残余应力和冶金缺陷。用于实现亚微米精度的一种工艺是单点金刚石车削（SPDT）。该项目将建造两台高度专业化的仪器，允许使用单点金刚石工具切割到接近原子尺寸（小于1纳米）的切割深度。这些仪器将用于一系列关于韧性和脆性材料的实验，以提供对纳米切削的更基本的了解。这项工作将使在纳米尺度上研究材料去除的物理特性成为可能，此外，还可以为这种尺度上的摩擦学研究提供基础。超精密加工技术将使制造商能够为机械系统生产更精确的部件，并为半导体材料和器件生产更高质量的基板。

There is an ever-increasing interest in the ability to manufacture to dimensional accuracies in the nanometer range and to attain surfaces with atomic level smoothness, free of residual stresses and metallurgical defects. One process used to achieve sub-micrometer accuracies is single point diamond turning (SPDT). This project is to build two highly-specialized instruments which will allow cutting with single-point diamond tools down to depths of cut approaching atomic dimensions (less than 1 nm). These instruments will be used in a series of experiments on ductile and brittle materials to provide a more fundamental understanding of nanometric cutting. The work will enable investigation of the physics of material removal at the nanometer scale and, in addition, could provide the basis for tribological studies at this scale. Ultraprecision machining technology will allow manufacturers to produce more precise components for mechanical systems and to produce higher quality substrates for semiconductor materials and devices.