Superimpose mechanism of surface generation process in grinding of monocrystalline silicon using molecular dynamics simulation

The grinding process involves a complicated superposition process of surface scratches, but its atomic mechanism is still unclear. In this work, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of silicon wafer machined by two grinding grits were conducted to investigate the superimpose mechanism of the surface generation in the grinding process. The MD results show that the superposition process in the monocrystalline silicon grinding redistributes the machined surface and subsurface damage layer (SDL), making the surface generation process dramatically different from a single grinding process. The machined surface quality improves gradually when the relative distance of grinding tools decreases. The superposition process reduces tangential force F-x and lateral force F-z components of the grinding force, resulting in the mean processing temperature of monocrystalline silicon is lower than that of a single grinding process. Besides, a significant internal stress accumulation exists in the superposition process. The unreleased internal stress at the bottom of the scratch would superimpose with the newly formed internal stress of the scratch, resulting in the secondary accumulation of the internal stress of the monocrystalline silicon. This work suggests an atomistic insights route for the optimization of grinding processes.

Automated summary

This study investigates the superimpose mechanism of surface generation in the grinding process through molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that the superposition process redistributes the machined surface and subsurface damage layer, reducing the processing temperature and tangential and lateral force components.