Abstract
A single-point diamond turning machine was usedto make grooves on (111) p-type single-crystal silicon wafersat room temperature. Scratch tests have been performed withboth sharp (Vickers and conical) diamond tools, and a spherical(Rockwell) diamond tool. Our results showed that materialremoval mechanisms differed between these tools.Pressure-induced metallization of Si allows the ductile regimemechanical micromachining of wafer surfaces. Ramanmicrospectroscopy and electron microscopy were used todetermine the machining parameters that do not introducecracking or other types of damage. The surface of the groove,after machining, was covered by a mixture of metastable,high-pressure silicon phases and amorphous silicon. Further,these phases can be transformed into cubic silicon byannealing. The maximum depth of cut in the ductile regime hasbeen determined for the given scratch test conditions andtools. The developed technique can be used to machine Ge, GaAsand other semiconductors. Applications drawing from thisresearch are many. For example, channels for microfluidicdevices can be engraved with a channel cross-section that isdetermined by the shape of the tool, which allows patterns thatcannot be produced using etching. There are no limitations onthe channel length or direction, and the channel width can varyfrom potentially a few nanometres to several micrometres.
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