High-efficiency laser fabrication of drag reducing riblet surfaces on pre-heated Teflon

Bio-inspired surfaces are able to decrease friction with fluids and gases. The most recognizable are shark-skin-like riblet surface structures. Such bio-inspired surfaces can be formed by the laser ablation technique. In this work, bio-inspired riblet surfaces with grooves were formed using picosecond ultraviolet laser ablation on pre-heated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at various sample temperatures. The ablation of hot PTFE was found to be 30% more efficient than the conventional laser structuring at the room temperature. The friction of structured PTFE surfaces with the flowing air was investigated by using drag a measurement setup. Results show the decrease of friction force by 6% with dimensionless riblet spacing around 14-20

Self-organization in thin metal films under laser irradiation

The aim of this PhD thesis is to find out mechanisms of the ripple initiation and formation in the chromium thin film on the glass substrate. To learn to control the ripple formation and to apply it for fabrication of diffraction gratings. In this thesis, the experimental and theoretical results of new self-organization effect of the metal thin film on the glass substrate under irradiation with a sequence of partially overlapping laser pulses are presented. The method for formation of the regular ripples and results on investigation of diffractive properties of the self-organized gratings is presented. Different types of metals are used in experiments in order to understand the reasons of regular structure formation in chromium film. A diverse behavior of the films under laser irradiation is observed depending on the metal when burst of partially overlapping pulses was applied. Experimental data is compared with simulations based on different physical phenomena in order to develop and confirm a model of ripple formation in thin chromium film under its irradiation with pulses of a nanosecond laser. The Plateau-Rayleigh instability of the cylindrical ridge formation during laser ablation appears to be the most probable process responsible for initiation of the ripple formation. The Marangoni convection of the molten metal from hot areas to cold is the stabilizing process of steady ripple formation

Plonų metalų sluoksnių savitvarkos lazerio spinduliuotės poveikyje tyrimas ir modeliavimas

The aim of this PhD thesis is to find out mechanisms of the ripple initiation and formation in the chromium thin film on the glass substrate. To learn to control the ripple formation and to apply it for fabrication of diffraction gratings. In this thesis, the experimental and theoretical results of new self-organization effect of the metal thin film on the glass substrate under irradiation with a sequence of partially overlapping laser pulses are presented. The method for formation of the regular ripples and results on investigation of diffractive properties of the self-organized gratings is presented. Different types of metals are used in experiments in order to understand the reasons of regular structure formation in chromium film. A diverse behavior of the films under laser irradiation is observed depending on the metal when burst of partially overlapping pulses was applied. Experimental data is compared with simulations based on different physical phenomena in order to develop and confirm a model of ripple formation in thin chromium film under its irradiation with pulses of a nanosecond laser. The Plateau-Rayleigh instability of the cylindrical ridge formation during laser ablation appears to be the most probable process responsible for initiation of the ripple formation. The Marangoni convection of the molten metal from hot areas to cold is the stabilizing process of steady ripple formation

Large-Area Fabrication of LIPSS for Wetting Control Using Multi-Parallel Femtosecond Laser Processing

In this research, the wetting property control of a stainless-steel surface, structured using parallel processing via an array of 64-femtosecond laser beams, is presented. The scanning of an 8 × 8-beam array over the sample was used to uniformly cover the large areas with LIPSS. The static water contact angle and the LIPSS period dependence on processing parameters were investigated. The wettability control of water droplets on laser-patterned stainless steel, ranging from contact angles of ~63°, similar to those of the plain surface, to the superhydrophobic surface with contact angles > 150°, was achieved. The relationship between the static water contact angle and the LIPSS parameters in the Fourier plane was investigated