Experimental study on machining germanium wafer with ice particle, fixed abrasive tools

A novel ice particle-fixed abrasive tool (IPFAT) was designed and manufactured in this paper. The uniformity of abrasives distribution in the IPFAT was tested. Using three kinds of IPFAT, which contains α-Al₂O₃ particles whose mean particle sizes are 5 μm, 1.289 μm, and 0.328 μm respectively; single crystal germanium wafers were lapped and then polished. The results show that the distribution of abrasives in the IPFAT is uniform and the IPFAT has the ability of self-sharpening. With the increased lap and polishing time, the surface roughness of the single crystal germanium wafers decreases linearly and the materials remove rate (MRR) basically remains invariable. After polishing with a 0.328 μm α-Al₂O₃ IPFAT, the surface roughness of the single crystal germanium wafer is 85 nm within 500 μm × 500 μm and the surface is even without obvious undulation.