Polycrystalline Diamond Metrology Tips with Convex Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metrology tips suffer from wear and material accumulation issues, leading to measurement errors, especially when dealing with hard and soft materials, and require frequent replacement, which is costly and affects measurement accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A diamond element with a convex surface having a root mean square roughness of less than 30 nm and specific spherical or super-hemispherical geometries is developed, utilizing polycrystalline diamond or diamond-coated materials to minimize wear and material accumulation, and achieve high accuracy in metrology applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional metrology tips are used, then initial measurement accuracy is achieved, but wear and material accumulation occur leading to rapid deterioration of spherical shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from conventional metals (steel, aluminum) to polycrystalline diamond, which has fundamentally different wear resistance properties. This material substitution resolves the contradiction by providing both high measurement precision and sustained spherical shape maintenance over extended periods
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structure with polycrystalline diamond coating on a metal substrate, combining the wear resistance of diamond with the mechanical strength and flexibility of the metal base, achieving both measurement accuracy and reliability
2Productivity
If conventional metrology tips are used, then measurement function is provided, but frequent replacement is required leading to high costs
Solution Approach 1:
Changing the material composition to polycrystalline diamond fundamentally alters the wear rate parameter, extending tip lifespan from hours/days to thousands of hours, thereby reducing replacement frequency and maintaining measurement productivity
3Measurement precision
If conventional metrology tips are used, then measurement capability is provided, but material accumulation occurs on softer materials leading to measurement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the surface energy and chemical reactivity parameters by using polycrystalline diamond, which has low surface energy and high chemical stability. This prevents material accumulation from softer materials like aluminum, maintaining measurement precision
Data Source
AI summary
A diamond element (10) having a convex surface is disclosed, the convex surface including a spherical segment for which the maximum peak to valley deviation from a perfect spherical surface is less than about 5 μm. The diamond element (10) may be a solid polycrystalline diamond material and/or may comprise base material which is coated with diamond. Alternatively or in addition, the RMS deviation from a perfect spherical surface may be less than about 500 nm, or the RMS roughness less than about 30 nm. A diamond element (10) with a radius of curvature less than about 20 mm is also disclosed. In one aspect a diamond element (10) having a conical half-angle greater than about 10° is described. Diamond elements (10) of this type are intended for use as metrology tips.