Investigating the stable ductile grinding regime for optical processing using a dicing saw

Ductile grinding on a dicing saw is a viable technique for producing optical waveguides and facets in brittle materials, particularly commercially produced lithium niobate waveguides. However, to date, the literature has focused on empirically defined parameters with little investigation of the grinding dynamics. In this study, we first review the formation of lithium niobate waveguides using a dicing saw to determine what parameters the community is employing. We then perform a series of grinding experiments to explore key process parameters, e.g., cut depth and feed rate, in optical quality grinding of lithium niobate. This work is the first large-distance grinding investigation in this important material. Our literature review shows that the optical dicing community normally finds that optical quality is easy to achieve in ductile mode, though the dynamics of this process are not well defined. However, our work shows that processing speed is limited by the blade wear rate prior to a significant roughness increase. We propose a blade wear-rate transition within the ductile regime, which can be approached by cut depth or feed-rate adjustment. Finding the blade wear-rate transition point provides optimal parameters to maximise throughput with minimal blade wear for the highest manufacturing efficiency.