Experimental Investigation and Numerical Analysis of Mechanical Ruling for an Aluminum-Coated Diffraction Grating

The mechanical ruling process using a diamond tool is an important method for fabrication of low-density diffraction gratings. In mechanical ruling, a deposited film of aluminum or gold is mechanically burnished by the diamond tool to form equally spaced and high-quality grooves. The goal of this work is to evaluate the effects of Al film properties and ruling tool loading conditions on the resultant groove formation. The microstructure of the Al film is first studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties of the Al film are measured by nano-indentation and scratch tests. Mechanical ruling experiments are then carried out on a 10.5 mu m thick Al film under various ruling loads ranging from 20 to 105 g. The groove geometry is investigated, and the tool wear of the diamond tool is inspected after the mechanical ruling tests. Finally, a three-dimensional (3D) thermomechanical-coupled finite-element (FE) model is developed to predict the deformation and temperature fields for the micron-scale groove formation by incorporating the Al film properties and a strain-gradient plasticity for modeling the size effect. Multiruling pass simulations are performed to analyze the groove formation under different loading conditions. Through comparison of simulation results with experimental measurement, this model is demonstrated as a useful numerical tool for modeling the mechanical ruling process using a diamond tool.