Large area direct fabrication of periodic arrays using interference patterning

Abstract

Periodic patterned surfaces do not merely provide unique properties, but act as intelligent surfaces capable of selectively influencing multiple functionalities. One of the most recent technologies allowing fabrication of periodic arrays within the micro- and submicrometer scales is Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP). The method permits the direct treatment of the material's surface based on locally induced photothermal or photochemical processes. Furthermore, DLIP is particularly suited to fabricate periodic patterns on planar and non-planar surfaces offering a route to large-scale production. In this paper, the fabrication of spatially ordered structures on different materials such as polymers, metals and diamond like carbon films is discussed. Several application examples as fu nction of the processed material are introduced, including bio functional surfaces for cell guidance on polymers, wear resistant properties for structured diamond carbon like coatings and metals, as well as micro-patterned flexible polymers with controlled optical properties

Cytocompatibility of Direct Laser Interference-patterned Titanium Surfaces for Implants

“…A recently developed technique for surface modification is direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) (2,3). By overlapping two or more laser beams on a sample surface, periodic laser intensity distributions are obtained and used for laser ablation.…”

Development of a general model for direct laser interference patterning of polymers

“…Among different laser processing techniques, Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP) is one of the most efficient routes for texturing materials up to the nanometer scale with high throughput [14][15][16]. The DLIP process relies on the local surface modification process which is obtained when two or more coherent laser beams interfere on the surface of a material, producing periodic surface patterns with controllable pitch and geometry [17][18][19][20]. While the spatial period can be controlled by changing the angle of the incident beams, the shape can be defined by the number of used laser beams as well as the polarization or the intensity, which brings a high degree of freedom in producing more complex patterns [21].…”

Periodic Microstructures Fabricated by Laser Interference with Subsequent Etching

“…Although the combination of diffractive optical element (DOE) and two lenses can also be used to fabricate periodic structures with a variety of interference patterns by controlling the polarization direction [ 33 , 34 ], it may cause the damage of DOE by a high power laser, which is necessary to ablate hard materials. Another strategy can also be used to realize laser interference, which consists of asymmetric assigned mirrors [ 35 ]. In fact, any laser interference methods that can ablate hard materials are acceptable.…”