Abstract

Polycrystalline CVD diamond films have been processed using an ArF excimer laser at the incident angles of 0, 30, 45, and 60 degrees from the normal followed by cast iron wheel polishing. The laser was operated at 50 Hz rep-rate with an energy of 150 mJ per pulse and a duration of 15 ns full-width, half-maximum (FWHM). The beam was focused using a cylindrical lens to a cross-sectional area of about 1.25 cm by 50 μm. The CVD diamond samples were mounted on a computer controlled linear translator and scanned at a speed of 2 μm/s. The initially sharp crystallite facets became rounded after two laser scans. The roughness of the 600 μm thick diamond film was reduced from 70 μm to around 15 μm using a Center Line Average (CLA). Rotating cast iron wheel charged with diamond powder was used for achieving final mirror-like surface.

© 1995 Optical Society of America