Characteristic of SiC Slurry in Ultra Precision Lapping of Sapphire Substrates

A method is proposed in this paper to prepare a SiC slurry with SiC particles selected by an ultrasonic-assisted elutriation method to reduce substrate surface damage caused by abrasive particles during lapping. Sapphire substrate lapping experiments were carried out using the prepared SiC slurry, and the lapping performance of the slurry was analyzed. The experimental results show that the SiC particle size is a factor that directly affects the material removal rate and surface roughness Ra, of sapphire substrates. When a SiC slurry with a particle size of 630 nm was used, the material removal rate was 508 nm/h, and the surface roughness Ra was 1.9 nm; increasing the slurry concentration and the platen rotating speed can improve the material removal rate. In addition, the agglomeration of SiC particles in the slurry depends on the pH of the slurry. Efficient precision lapping of sapphire substrates can be achieved by selecting appropriately sized SiC particles and by adjusting the slurry pH to control the agglomeration and dispersion of SiC particlesto further reduce the scratches on the substrate surface during the lapping process.