Robust generation of bio-inspired ultrahydrophobic metallic surfaces by nanosecond pulsed lasers

The current availability of lasers with characteristic pulse lengths ranging from nanoseconds to femtoseconds and the development of the appropriate laser processing workstations granting the appropriate precision and repeatability have definitively consolidated laser surface microstructuring as a reference domain nowadays unavoidable for the design and manufacturing of microsystems: micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs), fluidic devices, advanced sensors, biomedical devices, etc., are all among the most well-known developments of laser micromanufacturing technology. In this line, the generation of surfaces with specific functional properties is becoming an important niche of applications. In this paper, the application of laser sources with emission in the UV and at ns time regime to the surface structuration of metal surfaces (specifically Al) for the modification of their wettability properties is envisaged, the generation of super-hydrophobic self-cleaning extended functional surfaces being described.