Nano-polishing of the Surface of a Quartz Substrate Using an Evanescent Wave

Abstract

Optical near-field nano-polishing of the surface of a quartz substrate using dipole-dipole interaction of atomic chlorine with quartz particles is studied. A method to obtain atomic chlorine by the local photodissociation of the hypochlorite anion by the optical near-field of the quartz substrate nano-inhomogeneities is proposed. The polarization of chlorine atoms and quartz particles by means of an evanescent wave, which is generated on the substrate surface, is investigated. A method is proposed to obtain the most optimal orientation of the dipoles of atomic chlorine and quartz particles, using the features of the optical near-field, to maximally efficiently destroy the quartz substrate nano-inhomogeneities. The surface roughness of the quartz substrate was significantly reduced by using the proposed nano-polishing method for 20 minutes: $R_{\mathrm{a}}$ from 56.33 nm to 27.33 nm (by 51.48%), $R_{\mathrm{z}}$ from 247.51 nm to 138.51 nm (by 44.04%) and $R_{\max}$ from 317.22 nm to 156.22 nm (by 50.75%). The near-field nano-localization of photochemical etching processes theoretically has no dimensional limitations up to the size of single atoms. The use of an optical near field (including an evanescent wave) allows the nano-localization of chemical reactions. This method can be used in nanochemistry and nanotechnology.