Method and apparatus for chemical-mechanical polishing of diamond

摘要

This application describes a new method for rapid thinning, planarizing and fine polishing surfaces of diamond to the submicron/nanometer level so that large area, uniform thickness diamond wafers can be obtained. The method combines both chemical (dissolution of carbon in molten metals) and mechanical (rotating or moving sample fixtures in contact with the dissolving metals) polishing to achieve flat, smooth surface finishes in a relatively short period of time, thus improving the quality and economics of the overall polishing process. Several embodiments of apparatus for performing such chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) of diamond are described.