Large-Area Fabrication of LIPSS for Wetting Control Using Multi-Parallel Femtosecond Laser Processing

In this research, the wetting property control of a stainless-steel surface, structured using parallel processing via an array of 64-femtosecond laser beams, is presented. The scanning of an 8 x 8-beam array over the sample was used to uniformly cover the large areas with LIPSS. The static water contact angle and the LIPSS period dependence on processing parameters were investigated. The wettability control of water droplets on laser-patterned stainless steel, ranging from contact angles of similar to 63 degrees, similar to those of the plain surface, to the superhydrophobic surface with contact angles > 150 degrees, was achieved. The relationship between the static water contact angle and the LIPSS parameters in the Fourier plane was investigated.

Automated summary

This research presents the control of the wetting property of a stainless-steel surface through structuring it using parallel processing with an array of 64-femtosecond laser beams. The results show that by adjusting the processing parameters, the contact angle of water droplets on the laser-patterned stainless steel can be controlled, ranging from similar to 63 degrees to > 150 degrees.