Microscopic Mechanism for Mechanical Polishing of Diamond (110) Surfaces

Abstract
Mechanically induced degradation of diamond, as occurs during polishing, is studied using total-energy pseudopotential calculations. The strong asymmetry in the rate of polishing between different directions on the diamond (110) surface is explained in terms of an atomistic mechanism for nanogroove formation. The postpolishing surface morphology and the nature of the polishing residue predicted by this mechanism are consistent with experimental evidence.
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