Modelling and experimental investigation on nanometric cutting of monocrystalline silicon

A new model to understand the behaviour of how materials are removed from workpiece in nano cutting is proposed. This model postulates that the mechanism of nanometric scale material removal is based on extrusion, which is different from the shearing mechanism in conventional cutting. It also explains why brittle materials are removed in ductile mode. Analytical results from molecular dynamics and nano indentation show good agreement with the proposed modelling. Experiments are conducted to verify the new model for nanometric cutting of monocrystalline silicon. The theoretical modelling and experimental verification present a good understanding of nano-scale material removal and provide an approach to fundamentally control the machining performance.