Thermal Fatigue Behaviour of Co-Based Alloy Coating Obtained by Laser Surface Melt-Casting on High Temperature Alloy

A thermal fatigue behaviour of Co-based alloy coating obtained by laser surface meltcasting on the high temperature alloy GH33 was studied.The results show that after each time of thermal cycling,the final residual stress was formed in the melt-casting layer which is attributed to the thermal stress and structural stress.Through the first 50 times of thermal cycling,the morphology of coating still inherits the laser casting one,but the dendrites get bigger;After the second 50 times of thermal cycling,corrosion pits emerge from coating,and mostly in the places where coating and substrate meet.The fatigue damage type of coating belongs to stress corrosion.

Triboelectric‘electrostatic tweezers'for manipulating droplets on lubricated slippery surfaces prepared by femtosecond laser processing

The use of‘Electrostatic tweezers'is a promising tool for droplet manipulation,but it faces many limitations in manipulating droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces.Here,we achieve noncontact and multifunctional droplet manipulation on Nepenthes-inspired lubricated slippery surfaces via triboelectric electrostatic tweezers(TETs).The TET manipulation of droplets on a slippery surface has many advantages over electrostatic droplet manipulation on a superhydrophobic surface.The electrostatic field induces the redistribution of the charges inside the neutral droplet,which causes the triboelectric charged rod to drive the droplet to move forward under the electrostatic force.Positively or negatively charged droplets can also be driven by TET based on electrostatic attraction and repulsion.TET enables us to manipulate droplets under diverse conditions,including anti-gravity climb,suspended droplets,corrosive liquids,low-surface-tension liquids(e.g.ethanol with a surface tension of 22.3 mN·m^(-1)),different droplet volumes(from 100 nl to 0.5 ml),passing through narrow slits,sliding over damaged areas,on various solid substrates,and even droplets in an enclosed system.Various droplet-related applications,such as motion guidance,motion switching,droplet-based microreactions,surface cleaning,surface defogging,liquid sorting,and cell labeling,can be easily achieved with TETs.

Surface micromorphology and nanostructures evolution in hybrid laser processes of slicing and polishing single crystal 4H-SiC

Slicing and post-treatment of SiC crystals have been a significant challenge in the integrated circuit and microelectronics industry.To compete with wire-sawing and mechanical grinding technology,a promis-ing approach combining laser slicing and laser polishing technologies has been innovatively applied to increase utilization and decrease damage defects for single crystal 4H-SiC.Significant material utiliza-tion has been achieved in the hybrid laser processes,where material loss is reduced by 75%compared to that of conventional machining technologies.Without any special process control or additional treat-ment,an internally modified layer formed by laser slicing can easily separate the 4H-SiC crystals using an external force of about∼3.6 MPa.The modified layer has been characterized using a micro-Raman method to determine residual stress.The sliced surface exhibits a combination of smooth and coarse appearances around the fluvial morphology,with an average surface roughness of over S_(a) 0.89μm.An amorphous phase surrounds the SiC substrate,with two dimensions of lattice spacing,d=0.261 nm and d=0.265 nm,confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM).The creation of laser-induced periodic surface nanostructures in the laser-polished surface results in a flatter surface with an average roughness of less than S_(a) 0.22μm.Due to the extreme cooling rates and multiple thermal cy-cles,dissociation of Si-C bonding,and phase separation are identified on the laser-polished surface,which is much better than that of the machining surface.We anticipate that this approach will be applicable to other high-value crystals and will have promising viability in the aerospace and semiconductor industries.

Influence of laser parameters on the microstructures and surface properties in laser surface modification of biomedical magnesium alloys

Biodegradable implants from magnesium(Mg)alloys have emerged in the biomedical field especially in the orthopedic and cardiovascular stent applications owing to their low density,high specific strength,excellent machinability,good biocompatibility,and biodegradability.The primary shortcoming of Mg-based implants is their low corrosion resistance in the physiological environment,which results in premature mechanical integrity loss before adequate healing and the production of excessive hydrogen gas,which is harmful to the body tissues and negatively affects the biocompatibility of the implant.Laser surface modification has recently received attention because it can improve the surface properties such as surface chemistry,roughness,topography,corrosion resistance,wear resistance,hydrophilicity,and thus cell response to the surface of the material.The composition and microstructures including textures and phases of laser-treated surfaces depend largely on the laser processing parameters(input laser power,laser scan velocity,frequency,pulse duration,pressure,gas circulation,working time,spot size,beam focal position,and laser track overlap)and the thermophysical properties of the substrate(solubility,melting point,and boiling point).This review investigates the impacts of various laser surface modification techniques including laser surface melting,laser surface alloying,laser cladding,laser surface texturing,and laser shock peening,and highlights their significance in improving the surface properties of biodegradable Mg alloys for implant applications.Additionally,we explore how different laser process parameters affect its composition,microstructure,and surface properties in each laser surface modification technique.

Ultra-soft Desorption Assisted Mass Spectrometry using Picosecond Infrared Laser for the Detection of lons in the Liquid Surface

To identify the species in liquid surface using mass spectrometry,we must eliminate or reduce interferences during the vaporization or desorption of the species from the liquid surface.It is much more challenging to isolate the ionic,larger species from the liquid surface,because of the frangible structures and the higher solvation energies of those species.Here we demonstrate a new mass spectrometry in which the ionic species at the liquid surface can be desorbed with ultrasoft infrared picosecond laser pulses while the liquid surface is not breached.This laser desorption assisted mass spectrometry is not only a powerful tool to detect the fragile species but also promising to investigate vibrational energy transfer dynamics in the liquid surface.

Laser processing effects on Ti−45Nb alloy surface,corrosive and biocompatible properties

The Ti−45Nb(wt.%)alloy properties were investigated in relation to its potential biomedical use.Laser surface modification was utilized to improve its performance in biological systems.As a result of the laser treatment,(Ti,Nb)O scale was formed and various morphological features appeared on the alloy surface.The electrochemical behavior of Ti−45Nb alloy in simulated body conditions was evaluated and showed that the alloy was highly resistant to corrosion deterioration regardless of additional laser surface modification treatment.Nevertheless,the improved corrosion resistance after laser treatment was evident(the corrosion current density of the alloy before laser irradiation was 2.84×10^(−8)A/cm^(2),while that after laser treatment with 5 mJ was 0.65×10^(−8)A/cm^(2))and ascribed to the rapid formation of a complex and passivating bi-modal surface oxide layer.Alloy cytotoxicity and effects of the Ti−45Nb alloy laser surface modification on the MRC-5 cell viability,morphology,and proliferation were also investigated.The Ti−45Nb alloy showed no cytotoxic effect.Moreover,cells showed improved viability and adherence to the alloy surface after the laser irradiation treatment.The highest average cell viability of 115.37%was attained for the alloy laser-irradiated with 15 mJ.Results showed that the laser surface modification can be successfully utilized to significantly improve alloy performance in a biological environment.

Process Parameters Optimization of Laser Cladding for HT200 with 316L Coating Based on Response Surface Method

In order to improve the sealing surface performance of gray cast iron gas gate valves and achieve precise molding control of the cladding layer,as well as to reveal the influence of laser cladding process parameters on the morphology and structure of the cladding layer,we prepared the 316L coating on HT 200 by using Design-Expert software central composite design(CCD)based on response surface analysis.We built a regression prediction model and analyzed the ANOVA with the inspection results.With a target cladding layer width of 3.5 mm and height of 1.3 mm,the process parameters were optimized to obtain the best combination of process parameters.The microstructure,phases,and hardness variations of the cladding layer from experiments with optimal parameters were analyzed by the metallographic microscope,confocal microscope,and microhardness instrument.The experimental results indicate that laser power has a significant impact on the cladding layer width,followed by powder feed rate;scan speed has a significant impact on the cladding layer height,followed by powder feed rate.The HT200 substrate and 316L can metallurgically bond well,and the cladding layer structure consists of dendritic crystals,columnar crystals,and equiaxed crystals in sequence.The optimal process parameter combination satisfying the morphology requirements is laser power(A)of 1993 W,scan speed(B)of 8.949 mm/s,powder feed rate(C)of 1.408 r/min,with a maximum hardness of 1564.3 HV0.5,significantly higher than the hardness of the HT200 substrate.

Laser surface melting AZ31B magnesium alloy with liquid nitrogen-assisted cooling

Laser surface melting（LSM） is a high-energy surface treatment that allows modification of the microstructure and surface properties of Mg alloys. In the present work, an attempt of LSM on magnesium alloy with liquid nitrogen-assisted cooling（LNSC） was carried out to get the higher cooling rate and improve the surface properties. The experimental results were compared with those of Ar gas protection at room temperature. The samples after LSM with LNSC resulted in a thinner melted layer, a highly homogeneous, refined melted microstructure and formed a lot of worm-like nanocrystals and local amorphous structures. Microhardness of the melted layer with LNAC was improved to HV 90-148 as compared to HV 65-105 of the samples with Ar gas protection. The corrosion resistance of the melted layer in a 3.5% Na Cl solution（mass fraction） was improved because of the grain refinement and redistribution of β-Mg17Al12 phases following rapid quenching associated with the process.

Lateral Oxidation in Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

Lateral oxidation in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers （VCSELs） is described,and its characteristics are investigated.A linear growth law is found for stripe mesas. However, oxide growth （above 435℃ ） follows a nonlinear law for the two geometry mesa structures which we employ in VCSEL. Theoretical analysis indicates that mesa structure geometry influences oxide growth rate at higher temperatures.

High Slope Efficiency and High Power 850nm Oxide-Confined Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

High slope efficiency and high power selected oxide-confined 850nm VCSELs grown by MOCVD are reported.The slope efficiency and the threshold current respectively are 0 82mW/mA and 2 59mA with a 9μm diameter oxidation aperture at 25℃.The maximum power of 16mW is obtained at 23mA current bias.The minimum threshold current can be as low as 570μA with a 5μm diameter oxidation aperture at 25℃.The maximum saturated power is 5 5mW.

Laser cleaning of steel structure surface for paint removal and repaint adhesion

Paint removal from steel structure is executed for shipyards of marine and offshore engineering.Due to environmental unfriendliness and unhealthy drawbacks of sand blasting technique, laser ablation technique is proposed as a substituting method.By absorbing high energy of the 1064 nm pulsed laser, the paint is vaporized quickly.The ablated debris is then collected by using a suction pump.Initial metal surface of the steel is exposed when laser beam irradiates perpendicularly and scans over it.The cleaned surface fulfills the requirements of surface preparation standards ISO 8501 of SA2.The adhesion is further characterized with pull-off test after carrying out painting with Jotamastic 87 aluminum paint.The repainting can be embedded onto the laser cleaned surface to bond much more tightly.The excellent adhesion strength of 20 MPa between repainted coating and the substrate is achieved, which is higher than what is required by shipyards applications.

Surface hardening of Fe-based alloy powders by Nd:YAG laser cladding followed by electrospark deposition with WC-Co cemented carbide

This paper presents the results of a study concerned with the surface hardening of Fe-based alloys and WC-8Co cemented carbide by inte- grating laser cladding and the electrospark deposition processes. Specimens of low carbon steel were processed firstly by laser cladding with Fe-based alloy powders and then by electrospark deposition with WC-SCo cemented carbide. It is shown that, for these two treatments, the electrospark coating possesses finer microstructure than the laser coating, and the thickness and surface hardness of the electrospark coating can be substantially increased.

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Bionic Non-Smooth Stainless Steel Surface by Laser Multiple Processing

Laser multiple processing, i.e. laser surface texturing and then Laser Shock Processing (LSP), is a new surface processing technology for the preparation of bionic non-smooth surfaces. Based on engineering bionics, samples of bionic non-smooth surfaces of stainless steel 0Crl 8Ni9 were manufactured in the form of reseau structure by laser multiple processing. The mechanical properties (including microhardness, residual stress, surface roughness) and microstructure of the samples treated by laser multiple processing were compared with those of the samples without LSP The results show that the mechanical properties of these samples by laser multiple processing were clearly improved in comparison with those of the samples without LSP The mechanisms underlying the improved surface microhardness and surface residual stress were analyzed, and the relations between hardness, comnressive residual stress and roughness were also presented.

YAG laser welding with surface activating flux

YAG laser welding with surface activating flux has been investigated, and the influencing factors and mechanism are discussed. The results show that both surface activating flux and surface active element S have fantastic effects on the YAG laser weld shape, that is to obviously increase the weld penetration and D/W ratio in various welding conditions. The mechanism is thought to be the change of weld pool surface tension temperature coefficient, thus, the change of fluid flow pattern in weld pool due to the flux.

Picosecond Laser Surface Texturing of a Stavax Steel Substrate for Wettability Control

In this investigation,a picosecond laser was employed to fabricate surface textures on a Stavax steel substrate,which is a key material for mold fabrication in the manufacturing of various polymer products.Three main types of surface textures were fabricated on a Stavax steel substrate:periodic ripples,a two-scale hierarchical two-dimensional array of micro-bumps,and a micro-pits array with nanoripples.The wettability of the laser-textured Stavax steel surface was converted from its original hydrophilicity into hydrophobicity and even super-hydrophobicity after exposure to air.The results clearly show that this super-hydrophobicity is mainly due to the surface textures.The ultrafast laserinduced catalytic effect may play a secondary role in modifying the surface chemistry so as to lower the surface energy.The laser-induced surface textures on the metal mold substrates were then replicated onto polypropylene substrates via the polymer injection molding process.The surface wettability of the molded polypropylene was found to be changed from the original hydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity.This developed process holds the potential to improve the performance of fabricated plastic products in terms of wettability control and easy cleaning.

IMPROVING THE SURFACE PROPERTY OF TC4 ALLOY BY LASER NITRIDING AND ITS MECHANISM

The mixing technology of laser and heated nitrogen was applied to improve the surface hardness of titanium alloy （ TC4 ）. The samples were nitrided with laser power density of 6.S × 10^6SW. cm^-2, the scanning speed varioas from 100 to 500mm ·min^-1. The nitrogen gas was pre-heated to 300℃ to accelerate the nitriding process. Some interested samples were tested with XRD method （X-ray diffraction） to analyze the composition of nitrides, and the surface hardness of HV was measured. The results show that TiN and Ti2N were formed on the surface of Ti alloy with proper nitriding parameters, but TiN is the main composition. The surface hardness increased by three times, which is from the original value of 269to 794kg·mm^-2. The mechanism of the mixing technology is considered mainly of the activation of nitrogen by laser power and the pre-heated process which accelerated the nitriding process. The nitridation process can be considered as six steps given in detail. The result by analyzing the mechanism of improving the surface property of TiAl alloy shows the improvement of surface property due to two factors： the first reason is the result of laser annealing, and the second one is the formation of TiN.

Analysis of Laser Surface Hardened Layers of Automobile Engine Cylinder Liner

Gray cast iron that is used for automobile engine cylinder liners was laser surface hardened using Nd ： YAG quasi-continuous and CO2 continuous wave laser, respectively. The macromorphology and microstructure of the laser surface hardened layers were investigated using an optical microscope. Geometric dimensions including depth and width and microhardness distribution of the hardened layers were also examined in order to evaluate the quality of the hardened layers.

Microstructure and surface texture driven improvement in in-vitro response of laser surface processed AZ31B magnesium alloy

The present work explored effects of laser surface melting on microstructure and surface topography evolution in AZ31B magnesium alloy.Thermokinetic effects experienced by the material during laser surface melting were simulated using a multiphysics finite element model.Microstructure and phase evolution were examined using scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,and electron back scatter diffraction.Surface topography was evaluated using white light interferometry.The interaction of surface melted samples with simulated body fluid was monitored by contact angle measurements and immersion studies up to 7 days.Laser surface melting led to formation of a refined microstructure with predominantly basal crystallographic texture.Concurrently,the amount ofβphase(Mg_(17)Al_(12))increased with an increase in the laser fluence.βphase preferentially decorated the cell boundaries.In terms of topography,the surface became progressively rougher with an increase in laser fluence.As a result,upon immersion in simulated body fluid,the laser surface melted samples showed an improved wettability,corrosion resistance,and precipitation of mineral having composition closer to the hydroxyapatite bone mineral compared to the untreated sample.

Hierarchical microstructures with high spatial frequency laser induced periodic surface structures possessing different orientations created by femtosecond laser ablation of silicon in liquids

High spatial frequency laser induced periodic surface structures(HSFLs)on silicon substrates are often developed on flat surfaces at low fluences near ablation threshold of 0.1 J/cm2,seldom on microstructures or microgrooves at relatively higher fluences above 1 J/cm^2.This work aims to enrich the variety of HSFLs-containing hierarchical microstructures,by femtosecond laser(pulse duration:457 fs,wavelength:1045 nm,and repetition rate:100 kHz)in liquids(water and acetone)at laser fluence of 1.7 J/cm^2.The period of Si-HSFLs in the range of 110–200 nm is independent of the scanning speeds(0.1,0.5,1 and 2 mm/s),line intervals(5,15 and 20μm)of scanning lines and scanning directions(perpendicular or parallel to light polarization direction).It is interestingly found that besides normal HSFLs whose orientations are perpendicular to the direction of light polarization,both clockwise or anticlockwise randomly tilted HSFLs with a maximal deviation angle of 50°as compared to those of normal HSFLSs are found on the microstructures with height gradients.Raman spectra and SEM characterization jointly clarify that surface melting and nanocapillary waves play important roles in the formation of Si-HSFLs.The fact that no HSFLs are produced by laser ablation in air indicates that moderate melting facilitated with ultrafast liquid cooling is beneficial for the formation of HSFLs by LALs.On the basis of our findings and previous reports,a synergistic formation mechanism for HSFLs at high fluence was proposed and discussed,including thermal melting with the concomitance of ultrafast cooling in liquids,transformation of the molten layers into ripples and nanotips by surface plasmon polaritons(SPP)and second-harmonic generation(SHG),and modulation of Si-HSFLs direction by both nanocapillary waves and the localized electric field coming from the excited large Si particles.

Influence of cross correlation step length on the surface stress of thin laser cladding Fe314 alloy coatings

To measure the surface stress of thin laser cladding coatings with Rayleigh waves based on the cross correlation function, this pa- per introduced the influence of cross correlation step length on the stress measurement. Flat-shaped specimens made of laser cladding Fe314 alloy coatings were performed by static tensile tests, and Rayleigh wave signals were collected during the test process with an ultrasonic pulser and receiver instrument combined with two Rayleigh wave transducers. The difference in time of flight between two signals was de- termined based on the cross correlation function. The microstructure was observed by scanning electronic microscopy. The influence of the stress on the propagation velocity of Rayleigh waves and the relationship between the difference in time of flight and tensile stress under dif- ferent cross correlation step lengths were analyzed. The inhomogeneous deformation of the coatings affects the relationship between the dif- ference in time of flight and tensile stress; the stress measurement of the coatings is nearly constant with the increase of cross correlation step length when it attains one cycle.