Atomic surface of quartz glass induced by photocatalytic green chemical mechanical polishing using the developed SiO 2 @TiO 2 core-shell slurry.

High-performance devices of quartz glass demand an atomic surface, which induces a challenge for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) with a high material removal rate (MRR). Moreover, traditional CMP usually employs toxic and corrosive slurries, leading to the pollution of the environment. To overcome these challenges, a novel green photocatalytic CMP is proposed. In the CMP, SiO 2 @TiO 2 core-shell abrasives were developed, and the CMP slurry included the developed abrasives, sodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide and sorbitol. After photocatalytic CMP, the surface roughness S a of quartz glass is 0.185 nm, with a scanning area of 50 × 50 μm 2 , and the MRR is 8.64 μm h -1 . To the best of our knowledge, the MRR is the highest on such a big area of atomic surface for quartz glass. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that SiO 2 @TiO 2 core-shell abrasives were used as photocatalysts motivated by simulated solar light, generating electrons and holes and producing hydroxyl radicals through hydrogen peroxide. As a result, OH - could combine with Si atoms on the surface of quartz glass, forming Si-OH-Si bonds. Then the formed bonds were removed based on the balance between chemical and mechanical functions. The proposed CMP, developed SiO 2 @TiO 2 abrasives and slurry provide new insights to achieve an atomic surface of quartz glass with a high MRR.