A study on quartz wafer slot polishing by using the ultrasonic-assisted wire electrophoretic deposition method

Wire electrochemical discharge machining (WECDM) results in irregular processing markings on the machining surface; this increases surface roughness and thus lowers product performance and quality. In this work, the WECDM-machined side walls of a slot in a quartz wafer were polished by using an ultrasonic-assisted wire electrophoretic deposition method. Through an innovative electrophoretic deposition device, silicon carbide particles were deposited on the surface of the wire electrode to form a polishing wire for polishing the side wall of the quartz wafer slot. Introducing ultrasonic vibration during polishing after WECDM further decreased the surface roughness. In experiments, the polishing effect improved when appropriate processing parameters were adopted. From an initial surface roughness of 0.876 μm Ra, a surface roughness as low as 0.112 μm Ra was achieved (an improvement of 87.2%) under a working voltage of 12 V, a SiC particle concentration of 13 wt.%, feed rate of 10 μm/s, four polishing repetitions, and an ultrasonic power level of 2.