Controllability and mechanism investigation on the subsurface damage of CVD diamond film by Fe-containing vitrified bond wheel

Herein, a Fe-containing vitrified bond wheel was used to polish diamond by chemically mechanical polishing (CMP). Due to tribochemical reaction, the hardness of the polished diamond with adhered layers was 1.94 GPa, the corresponding the material removal rate (MRR) was 78.3 μm h−1. As confirmed by TEM and XPS, diamond could firstly react with Fe to form Fe2C, and then diamond-graphite phase transformation during the polishing process. Moreover, the surface damage in the Fe2C generation stage (20–50 nm) was much less than that of the diamond graphitization stage (1 μm). Controlling the reaction conditions in the carbide formation stage could ensure high MRR, while the subsurface damage could be reduced. [Display omitted] •Fe2C and graphite are generated during polishing process.•The thickness of subsurface damage can be controlled.•The subsurface damage layer is ~50 nm in carbide formation stage.•The subsurface damage layer is ~1 μm in diamond of graphitization stage.•The removal rate is 78.3 μm h−1 in the experimental test.