Rotational Stability and Lubrication State Evaluation of the Polishing Head for High Speed Polishing

High speed polishing can kinematically increase the polishing removal rate by using the conventional Preston equation, especially for hard substrates such as sapphire or diamond. However, high speed effects should be clarified beforehand considering the lubrication state and process parameter variations. In this paper, we developed a polishing experimental method and apparatus to determine the lubrication state by measuring the real time friction coefficient using two load cells. Through experiments, we obtained a boundary lubrication state above 0.35 of the friction coefficient by using low table speed and high polishing load, indicating a synchronized stable behavior in polishing head rotation. However, larger Stribeck indexes by a high speed above 200 rpm can generate a hydrodynamic lubrication state below 0.25 of the low friction coefficient. This causes the polishing head rotation to stop. A forced and synchronized head rotation is required for high speed polishing.