How to improve throughput in direct laser interference patterning: Top-hat beam profile and burst mode

This study describes the implementation of a top-hat pulsed laser for high-throughput structuring using Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP). Using two and four laser beams, dot and line-like periodic surface structures were produced, respectively. The top-hat laser profile allows treating the surface of the target materials without the need to overlap the different laser pulses and thus being capable of reducing the processing time compared to Gaussian energy distributions. Similarly, using a burst of pulses, the ablation efficiency of the DLIP process could be significantly improved. Finally, ablation tests on stainless steel samples are presented and discussed.