A wet abrasive blasting process for smooth micromachining of glass by ductile-mode removal

Abstract

This paper describes the ductile removal behavior of a Pyrex glass substrate in a wet blasting process with an aqueous fine abrasive slurry of 4 µm Al2O3 particles in water. Glass was removed in a ductile cutting mode when the blasting was carried out with low applied pressure or with a long nozzle distance. Although the removal rate in the ductile mode was much lower than with brittle-mode blasting, a smooth surface within a roughness of 50 nm Ra was obtained. Using ductile-mode blasting, a micro groove with a smooth surface (roughness <50 nm Ra) was successfully obtained. The profile of the micro groove was U-shaped, in contrast to the V-shaped profile obtained with conventional brittle-mode blasting. Ductile-mode blasting was also used for surface finishing after a rough pre-blasting process. The roughness of the pre-blasted surface was reduced from 200 nm Ra to about 100 nm Ra by the finishing process.