The purpose of this paper is to reveal material removal mechanisms of optical fiber end-surface in lapping processes. The lapping process experiments are conducted using fixed diamond abrasive lapping films with various particle sizes of 6μm, 3μm, 1μm, and 0.5μm. The micrographs of the optical fiber end-surfaces are observed using a scanning electron microscope. The experimental results show that there exist three material removal modes in the lapping processes: brittle fracture mode, semibrittle and semiductile mode, and ductile mode. These modes are mainly controlled by abrasive particle size, and there appears a brittle-ductile transition’s critical point when lapping films with a particle size of 3μm are used to lap optical fiber end-surfaces. An interpretation is proposed for the formation mechanism of the plastic deformed layer on the optical fiber end-surfaces.

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