Lapping and polishing process for obtaining super-smooth surfaces of quartz crystal

The lapping and polishing processes to obtain the damage-free surfaces and Angstrom level surface roughness of quartz crystal is discussed and realized by adopting soft material polishers, fine abrasive powders, and suitable working environments, by taking account of the minimization of mechanical actions in polishing process. The material removal mechanism in the process of ultra-precision polishing is discussed, and the basic formation models of surface roughness are also put forward. A super-smooth surface of quartz crystal with 1-2 Angstrom level roughness have been obtained by adopting the SiO2 abrasive powders and the K3 pitch polisher in the experiments. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.