A novel deterministic approach to maskless surface structuring using submerged pulsating air jet polishing

Submerged pulsating air jet polishing (SPAJP) is a recently developed sub-aperture energy beam polishing process. This paper investigates the potential application of SPAJP on brittle substrates for deterministic maskless surface structuring. Initially, experimental studies were conducted using monocrystalline silicon wafers as the processing substrate to characterize the polishing removal characteristics of SPAJP and identify an optimal process parameter combination for efficient surface preparation. To achieve processing determinacy, the generalized Gaussian distribution (GGD) was employed to accurately model SPAJP footprints. Additionally, an improved feedrate scheduling model was derived for GGD-modeled footprints to facilitate deterministic structured processing by SPAJP. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed deterministic approach to maskless surface structuring using SPAJP is validated through simulation analysis and microstructure fabrication tests, which include the fabrication of line and ruled microstructures. The results showcase high consistency between simulated and experimental profiles, highlighting the precision and controllability of SPAJP in maskless surface structuring. This research significantly contributes to advancing surface form generation and microstructure processing with high certainty.