102 Ultrasonic Assisted Lapping for the Manufacture of High Surface Quality Microstructures on Brittle Materials

Abstract

Ultrasonic assisted lapping (USAL) is proposed as a cost-effective alternative to micro-system based technologies, such as lithography, etching, and electron or ion beam micromachining, for manufacturing high surface quality and complex microstructures. The chosen target materials in this research are silicon, glass and advanced ceramics, which are hard-brittle and are not diamond turnable. First this paper describes the principles of USAL for microstructures, followed by obstacles in implementing and using the technique. Then, a path-controlled USAL system with an integrated on-line monitoring AE (Acoustic emission) system is presented. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed technique, machining experiments were conducted to fabricate linear, spiral and other 2-D arbitrary patterns using a 50μm carbide tool. Further experimental results focus on the achievable surface roughness and observed tool wear as well as on improving the surface roughness by reducing the material removal unit.