Silicon is the substrate material chosen for future gravitational wave detectors such as ET mainly because of the low optical absorption together with a high mechanical quality factor. To optimize the coatings deposited on these silicon substrates, they have to be annealed to temperatures above 600◦C. At temperatures between 450◦C and 600◦C thermal donors start to form, increasing the optical...
Electrochemical micromachining (ECM) is a non-contact and athermal process that can machine electrically conductive materials through anodic dissolution in the presence of an electrolyte and applied voltage governed by Faraday's law of electrolysis. The absence of mechanical forces and thermal damage make ECM especially suitable for machining advanced materials, regardless of hardness, while...
Towards Reliable Bonding of
Sapphire and Silicon II
