Abstract
Surface structuring is a key factor for the tailoring of proper cell attachment and the improvement of the bone-implant interface anchorage. Femtosecond laser machining is especially suited to the structuring of implants due to the possibility of creating surfaces with a wide variety of nano- and microstructures. To achieve a desired surface topography, different laser structuring parameters can be adjusted. The scanning strategy, or rather the laser pulse overlap and scanning line overlap, affect the surface topography in an essential way, which is demonstrated in this study. Ti6Al4V samples were structured using a 300 fs laser source with a wavelength of 1030 nm. Laser pulse overlap and scanning line overlap were varied between 40% and 90% over a wide range of fluences (F from 0.49 to 12.28 J/cm²), respectively. Four different main types of surface structures were obtained depending on the applied laser parameters: femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures (FLIPSS), micrometric ripples (MR), micro-craters, and pillared microstructures. It could also be demonstrated that the exceedance of the strong ablation threshold of Ti6Al4V strongly depends on the scanning strategy. The formation of microstructures can be achieved at lower levels of laser pulse overlap compared to the corresponding value of scanning line overlap due to higher heat accumulation in the irradiated area during laser machining.
Highlights
The topography of implants affects the cellular response and, the implant performance [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Four different main types of surface structures were obtained depending on the applied laser parameters: femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures (FLIPSS), micrometric ripples (MR), micro-craters, and pillared microstructures
It could be demonstrated that the exceedance of the strong ablation threshold of Ti6Al4V strongly depends on the scanning strategy
Summary
The topography of implants affects the cellular response and, the implant performance [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Laser treatment of titanium has been found to be advantageous compared to conventional surface structuring methods because it leads to less contamination of the surfaces [12]. The potential of femtosecond (fs) laser structuring of titanium for use in biomedical implants has been shown in several studies [15,16,17,18]. This technique is superior to nanosecond laser treatments due to opportunity of creating surface topographies with a greater variety of patterns [19]. Ultra-short pulse laser machining, such as fs laser structuring, Materials 2020, 13, 969; doi:10.3390/ma13040969 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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