Material removal characteristics of precorroded Lu2O3 laser crystals and elastic deformation model during nanoscratch process

At present, CMP is the only ultra-precision machining technology that can achieve global flattening. Unfortunately, CMP processing efficiency is extremely unsatisfactory. Although the processing efficiency can be improved by increasing the alkaline concentration of CMP slurry, the surface quality will deteriorate rapidly due to excessive concentration. In this study, the removal characteristics of both uncorroded and precorroded Lu2O3 laser crystals were investigated based on nanoscratch tests with edge-forward Berkovich indenter. Further, the elastic deformation model considering both elastic extrusion and elastic recovery deformation was established. The origin of the microcracks was then discussed. The observed responses of surface quality were shown to depend greatly on the extent of elastic deformation prevalent during the nanoscratch and associated material removal processes.