Advances in High-Efficiency, Low-Damage Polishing Technologies for Single-Crystal Silicon Carbide

Single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC) combines high hardness, low fracture toughness, and strong chemical inertness, making it difficult to improve material removal efficiency without compromising surface and subsurface integrity. This review surveys recent advances in high-efficiency, low-damage SiC polishing, including shear-rheological and shear-thickening polishing, magnetic-field-controlled and magnetorheological polishing, Fenton- and electrochemical-assisted polishing, plasma-assisted polishing, laser-assisted and laser surface-modification routes, and functionalized polishing tools. The operating mechanisms, principal variables, representative material removal rates, surface-quality outcomes, damage-control capabilities, and applicable processing stages are compared. Across these routes, effective low-damage removal depends on dynamically matching the formation of a modified surface layer, controlled mechanical removal, and timely evacuation of reaction products. Shear-rheological and magnetorheological methods emphasize compliant abrasive constraint; Fenton and electrochemical methods enhance surface reactions; plasma- and laser-assisted methods are well suited to rapid modification, thinning, or pretreatment; and functionalized tools improve stability by integrating load bearing, reaction, and debris removal at the interface. Representative outcomes are organized by processing stage, with Ra, Sa, and Sq retained in their original definitions and thickness-removal rates standardized to µm/h. Further progress requires wafer-scale uniformity, synchronized modification-removal control, closed-loop monitoring, and coordinated multistage processing.