Abstract
Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is a crystalline material which is widely applied in surface acoustic wave, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and optical devices, owing to its superior physical, optical, and electronic properties. Due to its low toughness and chemical inactivity, LiNbO3 is considered to be a hard-to-machine material and has been traditionally left as as an inert substrate upon which other micro structures are deposited. However, in order to make use of its superior material properties and increase efficiency, the fabrication of microstructures directly on LiNbO3 is in high demand. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the micro machinability of LiNbO3 via micro milling with the aim of obtaining optimal process parameters. Machining of micro slots was performed on Z-cut LiNbO3 wafers using single crystal diamond tools. Surface and edge quality, cutting forces, and the crystallographic effect were examined and characterized. Ductile mode machining of LiNbO3 was found to be feasible at a low feed rate and small depth of cut. A strong crystallographic effect on the machined surface quality was also observed. Finally, some LiNbO3 micro components applicable to sensing applications were fabricated.
Highlights
Single crystal lithium niobate (LiNbO3) has attracted attention from many researchers for its wide range of applications in surface acoustic wave, radio-frequency telecommunications, and optical devices owing to its superior physical, optical, and electronic properties (Wong 2002)
Mechanical grinding has been used to dice LiNbO3, very little research has been reported on employing mechanical micro cutting approaches in shaping LiNbO3 micro structures
Micro machining of LiNbO3 crystals was performed by a micro end milling process using single crystal diamond tools
Summary
Single crystal lithium niobate (LiNbO3) has attracted attention from many researchers for its wide range of applications in surface acoustic wave, radio-frequency telecommunications, and optical devices owing to its superior physical, optical, and electronic properties (Wong 2002). An emerging micro manufacturing process, has been successfully applied to the fabrication of 3D complex-shaped micro components with excellent dimensional accuracy and surface finish over a variety of engineering materials (Cheng 2013). It has been successfully applied in machining brittle materials and crystals, such as graphite (Huo 2014), single crystal silicon (Rusnaldy 2007, 2008, Arif 2012, Choong 2015, Huo 2015), ceramics (Cho 2007) and glass (Foy 2009, Arif 2011). Based on results obtained from the machinability study, some LiNbO3 micro components applicable to sensing applications were fabricated
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