Fabrication of micro-structured surface with controllable randomness by using FTS-based diamond turning

Abstract

Random micro-structured surfaces (RSS) have great application potentials as various functional surface elements, such as optical diffusers, with homogeneous surface properties. Conventional fabrication methods for RSS, such as chemical etching, can no longer meet modern requirements of high precision and controllability. In this study, a novel method was proposed for fabricating micro dimple arrays with controllable randomness in dimple size and depth by using fast tool servo (FTS)-based single-point diamond turning. Firstly, for tool path generation, a computer program was developed to periodically arrange small patches of quadratic surfaces over a large surface area. Then the position, height, and size of each quadratic surface were adjusted by applying random values, whose dynamic range was preset, to control the spatial difference among the dimples. Finally, the designed RSS was machined by continuous and segment cutting methods, respectively, to evaluate their effects on dimple edge formation. Results showed that the segmented cutting method improved the edge accuracy, thus was effective for RSS machining. The machined surface matched precisely with the designed surface with a form error of 10 nm level. The machining method proposed in this study enables high-precision patterning of mold inserts for molding/imprinting RSS on polymer materials.