Material treatment, namely, treatment of the surface portion of metals, namely, aluminum, copper, tungsten carbide, stainless steel, cobalt chrome, and other metals; treatment of the surface portion of glass, namely, optical substrates, fused silica, sapphire, borosilicate, borosilicate glass, polysilicon and other translucent glass materials; treatment of the surface portion of ceramics, namely, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride, and silicon carbide; treatment of the surface portion of semiconductor substrates, namely, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, indium phosphide, indium gallium phosphide, silicon carbide, and sapphire; and treatment of the surface portion of other types of materials, namely, polymers, pure and co-polymers, architectural stone, and gemstones by polishing, planarizing, smoothing, or otherwise modifying the mechanical, physical, chemical and electrical properties of surfaces