Deterministic polishing of micro geometries

Ultraprecision polishing of miniature components and features with small curvature radii is limited by surface accessibility, availability of suitable tools and the capability to control material removal with sufficient spatial resolution. This paper presents the development of an approach for the application of nearly deterministic micro polishing using miniature tools with 400 μm radius. To enable implementation of the proposed approach, the effect of tool wear and polymer relaxation on the control of local contact pressure is characterized and compensation of tool wear along the tool path is introduced. The process is experimentally validated by application to features in nickel phosphor with lateral dimensions down to 2 mm, yielding roughness down to less than Sa 1 nm and profile accuracy better than 10 nm P-V.