Tailored wetting of copper using precise nanosecond direct laser interference patterning

Nowadays, functionalized surfaces become more and more important for industrial applications concerning wettability, ice-repellency, self-cleaning, or tribology. In this contribution, an innovative approach is presented using the direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) technique for tailoring the wettability of copper surfaces. The interference of the laser beams was conducted by using prisms for forming a like-like pattern with a spatial period L of 3.3 µm. Moreover, texture depths up to 1.01 µm were reached. The wettability could be set to static water contact angles between 120° and 150° This paper gives inside into the viability of structuring copper materials using a low-cost nanosecond laser source in combination with an innovative beam shaping setup.