Post-synthesis processing of diamond and related super-hard materials

A method of processing a super-hard material having a Vickers hardness of no less than 2000 kg/mm2, the method comprising: (a) forming a surface of the super-hard material to have a first surface profile within a first root mean square deviation from a smooth target surface profile, said first root mean square deviation being no more than 5 mm; (b) analysing said surface of the super-hard material to detect a plurality of protruding regions on said surface (e.g. with an interferometer); and (c) selectively processing over only the protruding regions on the surface of the superhard material to form a second surface profile within a second root mean square deviation from the smooth target surface profile, said second root mean square deviation being no more than 100 nm. Step a) preferably utilises one or more of direct growth, cutting, lapping, polishing, chemo-mechanical polishing, ablating, electric discharge machining and etching, whilst step c) is preferably achieved by using one of a focussed beam, a targeted electric discharge, a masked etch, and a mechanical or chemo-mechanical polishing pad which is smaller in area than the surface of the surface of the super-hard material.