Edge Technologies, Inc. (ETI) proposes the investigation of the tribological machining phenomena between single crystal sapphire and plasma deposited amorphous silicon oxide (a:SiOx) in the presence of free oxygen. This phenomena, originally developed, has never been modeled. It is believed to incorporate high asperitite energy generated from sliding tribological contact with resulting oxidation of the hard and brittle material, the silicon playing a catalytic role: Chemical machining (RCA's solid state machining) properties of a:SiOx films have been empirically developed and optimized by ETI for the commercial production of precision single crystal diamond, cBN, ceramic and alumina tooling and chemical vapor deposited diamond polishing/finishing. ETI proposes a statistically based experimental plan to help optimize film material growth conditions, chemical composition, material properties and the down-stream machining parameters of surface speed and pressure to rapid material removal rates, smooth surface finishes and minimized sub-surface material damage. Single crystal sapphire, with a propensity to r-plane fracture, suffers significant sub-surface damage from the sliding abrasive contact normally associated with abrasive shaping/finishing. It is believed that non-abrasive chemical shaping/finishing will reduce sapphire sub-surface damage and enhance crystal strength and integrity.
