Material removal and surface evolution of single crystal silicon during ion beam polishing

The ion beam polishing techniques for silicon wafers play a key role in the fabrication of optical element. However, the dynamical ion beam polishing process at nanoscale time and space is very difficult to be recorded and observed, which most directly affects the quality of the machined surface. Here, the material removal and surface generation process during ion beam polishing are investigated using atomic simulation. In order to reveal the...