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Micropatterning of Fe-based bulk metallic glass surfaces by pulsed electrochemical micromachining

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Abstract

A new technique for micropatterning Fe-based bulk metallic glass surfaces is reported. The transpassive dissolution process is utilized for a defined localized material removal when using a pulsed electrochemical micromachining process. By applying submicrosecond pulses between a work piece and a tool electrode, microholes of high aspect ratio and depth of up to 100 urn can be machined into the bulk glassy Fe65.5Cr4Mo4Ga4P12C5B5.5 alloy. Two potential electrolytes are identified for the machining process. For these electrolytes, different reaction mechanisms are discussed. The possibility of machining more complex structures is demonstrated for the most promising electrolyte, a methanolic H2SO4 solution. The impact of the process parameters, pulse length and pulse voltage, on the machining gap and the surface quality of the machined structures is evaluated.

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Acknowledgment

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged for the support of this work under Grant DFG Ge 1106/10 “Elektrochemische Mikrobearbeitung hochfester metallischer Gläser.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry of Functional Materials, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research IFW Dresden, D-01069, Dresden, Germany

    Ralph Sueptitz, Kristina Tschulik, Christian Becker, Mihai Stoica, Margitta Uhlemann, Jürgen Eckert & Annett Gebert

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  1. Ralph Sueptitz
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  2. Kristina Tschulik
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  3. Christian Becker
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  4. Mihai Stoica
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  5. Margitta Uhlemann
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  6. Jürgen Eckert
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  7. Annett Gebert
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Correspondence to Ralph Sueptitz.

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Address all correspondence to this author. This author was an editor of this journal during the review and decision stage. For the JMR policy on review and publication of manuscripts authored by editors, please refer to http://www.mrs.org/jmr-editor-manuscripts/

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Sueptitz, R., Tschulik, K., Becker, C. et al. Micropatterning of Fe-based bulk metallic glass surfaces by pulsed electrochemical micromachining. Journal of Materials Research 27, 3033–3040 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2012.347

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2012.347

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