Observations on Polishing and Ultraprecision Machining of Semiconductor Substrate Materials

Abstract Among the polishing techniques used for semi-conductor materials that are hard and brittle (Si), chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) has many advantages and a few serious disadvantages too. For materials that are soft and brittle like GaAs, GaP, and InP, which have a very promising future, the CMP technique is now possible without the use of toxic agents. The elimination of the polishing process altogether, or a substantial reduction in polishing time is another strategy that has been successfully established by the use of electroyltic in-process dressing techniques (ELID). At the same time there are applications where profile requirements are not stringent like inexpensive night vision lenses, where partial ductile grinding and simple mechanical polishing are highly economical. Finally a simulated model for ultra precision grinding is presented here.