LAUSR

Abstract The processing efficiency and stability of ultra-hard and brittle materials plannarized by fixed abrasive pads (FAPs) are largely determined by the cutting depth and the available number of active cutting abrasives and the abrasive wear behaviors. A newly prepared agglomerated diamond (AD) abrasive embedded in FAPs has demonstrated a significant improvement on processing efficiency and stability while being used to lap hard-to-processed ceramic materials. A mathematical model was built to explain the high removal efficiency of the AD abrasives, which followed a similar trend with experimental testing results. The micro-cutting and self-sharpening capabilities of the AD abrasive, which afforded FAPs with AD abrasives to improve efficiency and stability, were manifested by our experimental examinations on the worn abrasive morphologies, the fall-out diamond chips and scratch marks left on sapphire substrates by AD abrasives.