Study on the Effect of Polishing Pad on Catalytic Composite Abrasive Clusters Friction Chemical Mechanical Polishing Single Crystal SiC Substrate

Abstract Aiming at the difficulties of low efficiency and high cost during the ultra-precision machining of monocrystalline silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, a new type of UV-cured polishing pad (UV-CPD) for friction chemical mechanical polishing (TCMP) of SiC is proposed. Four different types of modified resin blends were prepared, and four types of UV-CPD were produced by light curing technology. Hardness, elastic modulus, and coefficient of friction were used as evaluation indicators to compare the mechanical properties of UV-CPD with commercial polyurethane polishing pads (CPPD). TCMP experiments were conducted on SiC substrates using laboratory-made catalytic composite abrasive clusters to compare the processing effects of UV-CPD and CPPD-polished SiC substrates as far as material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness. Scanning electron microscopy and white light interferometer were used to test and characterize the materials for wear mechanisms. Experimental results indicated that the MRR of 3#UV-CPD was the highest, with a 46.856% increase compared to CPPD, reaching 333.119 nm/min. After 1#UV-CPD polishing, the surface roughness of SiC was the lowest, reduced by 15% compared to CPPD, at 50.599 nm. UV-CPD can realize ultra-precision machining of SiC. This study provides a reference for the selection of soft polishing pads and the realization of ultra-precision machining of SiC.