Biomimetic structures for mechanical applications by interfering laser beams: More than solely holographic gratings

Abstract

A variety of biological materials composed of hierarchical phase composites can be found. These biological materials successfully combine impressive toughness with high stiffness and strength. Deposition techniques combined with high-power laser beams can imitate biological structures in technical systems. Interference phenomena, such as surface scattering, Lloyd's mirror arrangements, or interference of coherent beams, can be used to create these biomimetic long-range ordered structures on the scale of nanometers to micrometers. These structures are not limited to topographic texturing, as in the case of holographic gratings; rather, they can also create composite structures and phase transformations. This article presents a brief overview of interference techniques, their possibilities, and their limits.

Multi-Beam Interference Advances and Applications: Nano-Electronics, Photonic Crystals, Metamaterials, Subwavelength Structures, Optical Trapping, and Biomedical Structures

“…Surface patterning at the micro-and nano-scale has been the subject of much study, with applications across numerous areas, including microelectromechanical systems, automotives, aviation, defense, and biological areas [194,255]. Laser surface texturing using MBI is of particular interest to tribology technologies including textured surfaces for mechanical seals, piston rings, and thrust bearings.…”

“…Others have studied the wetting properties and superhydrophobicity of surfaces, patterned by laser interference, for such applications as corrosion inhibition, microfluidic technology, self-cleaning window glass, and evaporation-driven nanopatterning [151,256]. Similarly, interference patterning has been used to create biomemetic structures as depicted in Figure 12(b), mimicking natural sub-micron patterns [257] such as bone material and shells exhibiting advantageous mechanical stability and dynamic surface properties [255].…”

Laser Fabrication and Machining of Materials

“…Thus, the upper limit of the spacing is determined by the smallest achievable angle with the interferometer optics. For larger spacing, special frameless optical elements could be designed to allow the smaller interference angle (Daniel 2006). Also, a set of focusing optics can be incorporated to adjust the energy fluence at the imaging surface of the sample.…”