ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of the high-pressure phase transformation (HPPT) in ductile-machining of semiconductors and ceramics. The metallic nature of the high-pressure phases of semiconductors and ceramics is responsible for their metal-like ductility at room temperature. Since the HPPT involves a structural change that affects the material’s electrical characteristics, electrochemical effects are also involved. While HPPTs may occur to depths of hundreds of nanometres in silicon (Si), the electrochemical effects could reach micrometres below the surface. As Si, germanium, and diamond are transparent in the infrared at atmospheric pressure and the metallic HPP of the materials is presumably opaque to the infrared, there exists another alternative to detect the HPP in situ. The chapter highlights the process of single-point diamond turning and its corollaries: indentation, scratching, grinding and polishing. It provides details of a commonly used ductile-machining process associated with ductile-regime machining of semiconductors and ceramics.
