A laser process for surface finishing
Lotus effects by laser, Research News / February 01, 2022 By Fraunhofer Institute
Nano- and microstructures can now be incorporated into surfaces in an instant using lasers. The technology is being developed and marketed by the Dresden-based start-up Fusion Bionic, a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS. The possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to laser structuring. It has the advantage of being fast and much more versatile than coatings.
Modern light interference technologies from Dresden now enable lotus effects and other refined structural tricks from the natural world to be transferred quickly to technical surfaces such as battery components, implants and even airplanes.
Modern light interference technologies from Dresden now enable lotus effects and other refined structural tricks from the natural world to be transferred quickly to technical surfaces such as battery components, implants and even airplanes.
Product surfaces can be enhanced with all kinds of different effects. The lotus effect, for example, uses a microstructure to allow any dirt that might stick to the surface to simply wash away the next time it rains. The fine ripples of shark skin, meanwhile, improve the dynamics of air and water on the outside of airplanes and ships, thus saving fuel. With nature as their inspiration, many such effects have been developed by coating or applying a film to the surface into which the microstructures are incorporated. Coatings and films can wear away, however, causing the desired effect to diminish over time. In recent years, researchers at Fraunhofer IWS and Technische Universität Dresden have developed an alternative, market-ready method of permanently applying nano- and microstructures to surfaces: Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP). This process incorporates the nano- or microstructure directly into the surface using a laser in order to create biomimetic effects. It is a remarkably quick process, and can currently handle up to one square meter of surface per minute. The new technology is so promising that it led to Fusion Bionic being founded this year as a spin-off from Fraunhofer IWS. Fusion Bionic develops and markets DLIP system solutions for biomimetic surface finishing, but also provides surface functionalization services to its customers.
Fast enough for large surface areas
“For a long time, lasers were much too slow to be used for finishing surfaces with large areas compared to coating or applying films,” says Managing Director of Fusion Bionic, Dr. Tim Kunze, who founded the company together with three partners. “But with the DLIP process we’ve made the leap to processing large surface areas quickly.” Conventionally, people think of a laser as a single fine beam. Using it like a needle to make a pattern in a surface would be extremely time-consuming. The way the DLIP process works is different. First of all, it splits a single laser beam into multiple clusters of beams. To apply a pattern to the surface, these multiple laser beams are superimposed in a controlled way to create what is known as an interference pattern. This pattern can be distributed over a wider area, allowing surfaces with large areas to be processed rapidly. .... '
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