Our colleague, Petr Hauschwitz, has his first publication in the prestigious journal Nature – Scientific reports. The article deals with the productivity of nanostructuring on stainless steel. The HiLASE Centre, in cooperation with the Israeli company HOLO/OR and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, managed to achieve a world record in nanostructuring speed – 1909 cm2/min with 2601 bundles on 40X40mm stainless steel. Here you can find more about the record.
A unique combination of the ultrashort high-energy pulsed laser system with exceptional beam quality and a novel Difractive Optical Element (DOE) enables simultaneous production of 2601 spots organized in the square-shaped 1× 1 mm matrix in less than 0.01 ms. By adjusting the laser and processing parameters each spot can contain Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS, ripples), including high-spatial frequency LIPSS (HFSL) and low-spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL). DOE placed before galvanometric scanner allows easy integration and stitching of the pattern over larger areas. In addition, the LIPSS formation was monitored for the first time using fast infrared radiometry for verifcation of real-time quality control possibilities. During the LIPSS fabrication, solidifcation plateaus were observed after each laser pulse, which enables process control by monitoring heat accumulation or plateau length using a new signal derivation approach. Analysis of solidifcation plateaus after each laser pulse enabled dynamic calibration of the measurement. Heat accumulation temperatures from 200 to 1000 °C were observed from measurement and compared to the theoretical model. The temperature measurements revealed interesting changes in the physics of the laser
ablation process. Moreover, the highest throughput on the area of 40× 40 mm reached 1910 cm2/min, which is the highest demonstrated throughput of LIPSS nanostructuring, to the best of our knowledge. Thus, showing great potential for the eficient production of LIPSS-based functional surfaces which can be used to improve surface mechanical, biological or optical properties.
Here you can READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE.
