Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC
Single-crystal 4H-SiC is a typical third-generation semiconductor power-device material because of its excellent electronic and thermal properties. A novel polishing technique that combines plasma electrolytic processing and mechanical polishing (PEP-MP) was proposed in order to polish single-crysta...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/6/606 |
| _version_ | 1797532967669596160 |
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| author | Gaoling Ma Shujuan Li Xu Liu Xincheng Yin Zhen Jia Feilong Liu |
| author_facet | Gaoling Ma Shujuan Li Xu Liu Xincheng Yin Zhen Jia Feilong Liu |
| author_sort | Gaoling Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Single-crystal 4H-SiC is a typical third-generation semiconductor power-device material because of its excellent electronic and thermal properties. A novel polishing technique that combines plasma electrolytic processing and mechanical polishing (PEP-MP) was proposed in order to polish single-crystal 4H-SiC surfaces effectively. In the PEP-MP process, the single-crystal 4H-SiC surface is modified into a soft oxide layer, which is mainly made of SiO<sub>2</sub> and a small amount of silicon oxycarbide by plasma electrolytic processing. Then, the modified oxide layer is easily removed by soft abrasives such as CeO<sub>2</sub>, whose hardness is much lower than that of single-crystal 4H-SiC. Finally a scratch-free and damage-free surface can be obtained. The hardness of the single-crystal 4H-SiC surface is greatly decreased from 2891.03 to 72.61 HV after plasma electrolytic processing. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) observation, the plasma electrolytic processing behaviors of single-crystal 4H-SiC are investigated. The scanning white light interferometer (SWLI) images of 4H-SiC surface processed by PEP-MP for 30 s shows that an ultra-smooth surface is obtained and the surface roughness decreased from Sz 607 nm, Ra 64.5 nm to Sz 60.1 nm, Ra 8.1 nm and the material removal rate (MRR) of PEP-MP is about 21.8 μm/h. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:07:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f704994d1de748b18171a77ad721bbdd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:07:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-f704994d1de748b18171a77ad721bbdd2023-11-21T21:02:36ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2021-05-0112660610.3390/mi12060606Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiCGaoling Ma0Shujuan Li1Xu Liu2Xincheng Yin3Zhen Jia4Feilong Liu5School of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSingle-crystal 4H-SiC is a typical third-generation semiconductor power-device material because of its excellent electronic and thermal properties. A novel polishing technique that combines plasma electrolytic processing and mechanical polishing (PEP-MP) was proposed in order to polish single-crystal 4H-SiC surfaces effectively. In the PEP-MP process, the single-crystal 4H-SiC surface is modified into a soft oxide layer, which is mainly made of SiO<sub>2</sub> and a small amount of silicon oxycarbide by plasma electrolytic processing. Then, the modified oxide layer is easily removed by soft abrasives such as CeO<sub>2</sub>, whose hardness is much lower than that of single-crystal 4H-SiC. Finally a scratch-free and damage-free surface can be obtained. The hardness of the single-crystal 4H-SiC surface is greatly decreased from 2891.03 to 72.61 HV after plasma electrolytic processing. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) observation, the plasma electrolytic processing behaviors of single-crystal 4H-SiC are investigated. The scanning white light interferometer (SWLI) images of 4H-SiC surface processed by PEP-MP for 30 s shows that an ultra-smooth surface is obtained and the surface roughness decreased from Sz 607 nm, Ra 64.5 nm to Sz 60.1 nm, Ra 8.1 nm and the material removal rate (MRR) of PEP-MP is about 21.8 μm/h.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/6/606single-crystal 4H-SiCmechanical polishingplasma electrolytic processingultra-smooth surface |
| spellingShingle | Gaoling Ma Shujuan Li Xu Liu Xincheng Yin Zhen Jia Feilong Liu Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC Micromachines single-crystal 4H-SiC mechanical polishing plasma electrolytic processing ultra-smooth surface |
| title | Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC |
| title_full | Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC |
| title_fullStr | Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC |
| title_short | Combination of Plasma Electrolytic Processing and Mechanical Polishing for Single-Crystal 4H-SiC |
| title_sort | combination of plasma electrolytic processing and mechanical polishing for single crystal 4h sic |
| topic | single-crystal 4H-SiC mechanical polishing plasma electrolytic processing ultra-smooth surface |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/6/606 |
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