Investigation of removal rate properties of a floating polishing process

The volume removal rate properties for a floating polishing process under d ifferent lubricating conditions are investigated. The lubricating condition s are those that make the pad in noncontact with the work surface. Under th is noncontact condition, the abrasive particles will play two roles in work material removal. One role is to accumulate the energy or power from shear stress field of slurry flow. The other role is to transmit the accumulated energy or power to work surface atoms in a certain efficiency. Accordingly , it is proposed that the machining capability of an abrasive particle is m ainly a function of its sustained shear stress, from an energy point of vie w. II is shown that the removal rate has distinct properties under differen t lubricating conditions. If the slurry between pad and work surface is in the isoviscous-elastic lubricating regime, the removal rate will be related positively to pad speed and slurry viscosity. On the other hand, the remov al rate is related negatively to speed and slurry viscosity when the lubric ation is in the isoviscous-rigid regime. (C) 2000 The Electrochemical Socie ty. S0013-4651(99)06-028-0. All rights reserved.