This engineering research equipment grant is for the acquisition of a lapping machine and an interference contrast microscope to be used in surface finishing studies on ceramics. The acquired equipment will be used in specific studies directed at: (a) investigating the residual stresses and the near surface dislocations on lapped/polished ceramic surfaces; (b) characterizing the plastic deformation induced changes in the near surface electromagnetic properties such as permeability, magnetostriction, and refractive index in lapped/polished ceramics; (c) developing ultra-fine abrasive finishing, chemical finishing, and mechano-chemical polishing processes; and (d) modeling of lapping and polishing processes to predict the nature of the surface cracking, the residual stress distribution, and interface temperatures. The ultimate goal of the research is the generation of up to atomically smooth ceramic surfaces with the desired surface quality.
