Nanosecond laser texturing of aluminium for control of wettability

摘要

There is increasing interest in the use of lasers to modify the wettability of surfaces. Here we report on the use of a 20W nS pulsed IR fibre laser to create strong hydrophobicity on the surface of aluminium sheets. This is unexpected, hydrophobicity is usually associated solely with femto- or pico- second laser processing. At a 20W average power level the area coverage rate is too small for many industrial applications. Further trials using a 800W DPSS laser are described and the ability of this system to change surface wettability at a much higher production rate are indicated. There is little reported literature on surface texturing at higher average power levels. Indications of the productivity, or surface coverage rate, are given.