Micro electro-discharge machining using water as a working fluid 2: Narrow slit fabrication

Micro-electro discharge machining (MEDM) using water as a working fluid, with its advantages of high removal rate and low electrode wear without formation of carbonaceous material, for deep micro-hole drilling with large ratios of depth to diameter is applied to the fabrication of narrow slits used for ultra-violet spectrometers. The optimum condition for narrow slit fabrication is investigated concerning the electric discharge circuit and combinations of electrode, workpiece materials and electrode polarity.

As a result, it is possible to fabricate fine slits as narrow as 20 μm wide and 3 mm long with fairly fine surface roughness of around 1 μm. Comparative estimation with an optical diffraction method shows that slits made by MEDM and commercially available ones made by photoetching are both of the same level in quality as determined from the higher order spots of the diffraction pattern. The MEDM method is superior to photoetching in fabricating finer and more accurate slits much faster.