On the ductile machining of silicon for micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), opto-electronic and optical applications

The role of hydrostatic pressure in the ductile machining of silicon is demonstrated experimentally using a single crystal diamond tool with a large negative rake (-40 degrees) and a high side cutting edge angle (SCEA) (similar to 88 degrees) and undeformed chip thickness in the nanometric range (similar to 50 nm) using an ultraprecision machine tool and a special machining stage inside a high external hydrostatic pressure (similar to 400 MPa) apparatus. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.