A study of micro V-groove fabrication in ultra-precision freeform machining

Optical communication is gaining popularity in telecommunications: most obviously evident is the increase in demand for a large variety of fiber optic components. V-groove structure quality is critical to the functionality of the fiber connector as it governs the position of the optic fibers. The main parameters, which determine the V-groove quality, include core pitch, surface roughness and the position of centerline. In this paper, a series of cutting conditions were applied to investigate the effect of different machining parameters on the V-groove quality. In the experiment, the V-groove structure is machined by a 40° single crystal diamond tool on aluminium alloy with different cutting conditions. Based on the findings, the relationship between the cutting conditions on the surface roughness was explored. The implications of these findings on the improvement of the surface finish of V-groove profile are discussed.