Effect of Laser Surface Texturing parameters on the texture formation in pure magnesium substrate

Abstract

Magnesium and its alloys find a prominent application in bio-implant applications. However, their poor surface property like high corrosion rate has limited their wide usage. Various conversion and deposited coating methods are available to protect the magnesium surface from the rapid degradation. Recently, laser surface texturing (LST) has been identified as a unique surface treatment technique. In this work, LST experiments were conducted on a pure magnesium substrate with a picosecond laser system. The effect of laser scan speed and number of passes on the texture formation and surface roughness was investigated. Microstructure of the textures was investigated through scanning electron microscopy and surface roughness was investigated through White Light Interferometry (WLI). Results revealed that texture formation is accurate in lower laser scanning speed. Moreover, depth of the textures increases in lower scanning speed conditions. Surface roughness of the textures is governed by the formation of recast materials in and around the textures.