Single Point Diamond Turning of Silicon by Using Micro-Laser Assisted Machining Technique

In this study, single point diamond turning (SPDT) is coupled with the micro-laser assisted machining (μ-LAM) technique. The μ-LAM system is used to preferentially heat and thermally soften the work piece material in contact with a diamond cutting tool. In μ-LAM the laser and cutting tool are integrated into a single package, i.e. the laser energy is delivered by a single mode fiber laser to and through a diamond cutting tool. This hybrid method can potentially increase the critical depth of cut (DoC), i.e., a larger ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT) depth, in ductile regime machining, resulting in a higher material removal rate (MRR). An IR continuous wave (CW) fiber laser, wavelength of 1064nm and max power of 100W with a beam diameter of 10μm, is used in this investigation. In the current study SPDT tests were employed on single crystal silicon (Si) wafer which is very brittle and hard to machine by conventional methods. Different outputs such as surface roughness and depth of cut for different set of experiments were analyzed. Results show that an unpolished surface of a Si wafer can be machined in one pass to get a very good surface finish. The Ra was brought down from 1.2μm to 275nm only in one pass which is a very promising result for machining the Si wafer.