High orientation consistency and adjustable convex width of laser-induced periodic surface structures using picosecond laser pulse trains.

High orientation consistency and adjustable convex width of the low-spatial-frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures (LSFLs), crucial to the functional surface characteristics, have remained elusive. This paper proposes a new method to fabricate LSFLs with high orientation consistency on the rough surface of titanium by combining laser polishing and laser induction with LSFLs with a tunable convex width via laser melting as the post-treatment. Picosecond pulses trained with a 50-ns interval are applied to regulate the thermal incubation effect and achieve laser polishing and laser nanoscale melting.

Mutanofactin promotes adhesion and biofilm formation of cariogenic Streptococcus mutans.

Cariogenic Streptococcus mutans is known as a predominant etiological agent of dental caries due to its exceptional capacity to form biofilms. From strains of S. mutans isolated from dental plaque, we discovered, in the present study, a polyketide/nonribosomal peptide biosynthetic gene cluster, muf, which directly correlates with a strong biofilm-forming capability.

Effects of Surface Wettability on the Dewetting Performance of Hydrophobic Surfaces.

We studied the impact dynamics of a droplet on two types of surfaces, i.e., nanostructured/hierarchical (NS/HS) surfaces, with different extents of hydrophobicity.

Designable Ultratransparent and Superhydrophobic Surface of Embedded Artificial Compound Eye with Extremely Low Adhesion.

Real-world implementation of artificial compound eye (ACE) has been limited by its poor transparency and high requirement for the stable Cassie state. In general, the improvement of surface dewetting performance sacrifices the transparency of ACE. Herein, ACE was obtained by an integrated manufacturing technology that combined photolithography, microprinting, and chemical growth.

Broad-Band Ultra-Low-Reflectivity Multiscale Micro-Nano Structures by the Combination of Femtosecond Laser Ablation and In Situ Deposition.

Functional surfaces with broad-band ultralow optical reflection have many potential applications in areas like national defense and energy conversion. For efficient, high-quality manufacturing of material surfaces with antireflection features, a novel machining method for multiscale micro-nano structures is proposed. This method can enable the collaborative manufacturing of both microstructures via laser ablation and micro-nano structures with high porosity via in situ deposition, and it can simplify the fabrication process of multiscale micro-nano structures.

Fabrication of Artificial Compound Eye with Controllable Field of View and Improved Imaging.

Many arthropods have compound eyes, which are made up of numerous separate visual units (microlenses) or ommatidia. These natural compound eyes have exceptional optical properties such as wide field of view (FOV), low aberration, and fast motion tracking capability. In this paper, a large-scale artificial compound eye (ACE) is fabricated efficiently using a combination of inkjet printing and air-assisted deformation processes.

Mechanism and morphology control of underwater femtosecond laser microgrooving of silicon carbide ceramics.

Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics have been widely used for microelectronics, aerospace, and other industrial fields due to their excellent chemical stability and thermal tolerance. However, hard machinability and low machining precision of SiC ceramics are the key limitations for their further applications. To address this issue, a novel method of underwater femtosecond laser machining was introduced in this study to obtain high precision and smooth surface of the microgrooves of SiC ceramics.

Artificial Compound Eyes Prepared by a Combination of Air-Assisted Deformation, Modified Laser Swelling, and Controlled Crystal Growth.

This study presents the manufacturing process of bioinspired compound (BIC) eyes. The hierarchical eyes were accomplished by a combination of (i) modified laser swelling, (ii) air-assisted deformation, and (iii) controlled crystal growth. The results show that the addition of nanostructures on the surface effectively improved the water repellent performance with a contact angle (CA) of ∼160° and generally decreased the reflection by ∼25% in the wavelength range of 400-800 nm than the planar surface.

Pseudo-topotactic conversion of carbon nanotubes to T-carbon nanowires under picosecond laser irradiation in methanol.

Pseudo-topotactic conversion of carbon nanotubes into one-dimensional carbon nanowires is a challenging but feasible path to obtain desired diameters and morphologies. Here, a previously predicted but experimentally unobserved carbon allotrope, T-carbon, has been produced from pseudo-topotactic conversion of a multi-walled carbon nanotube suspension in methanol by picosecond pulsed-laser irradiation. The as-grown T-carbon nanowires have the same diameter distribution as pristine carbon nanotubes, and have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, fast Fourier transform, electron energy loss, ultraviolet-visible, and photoluminescence spectroscopies to possess a diamond-like lattice, where each carbon is replaced by a carbon tetrahedron, and a lattice constant of 7.

Rutile TiO Flocculent Ripples with High Antireflectivity and Superhydrophobicity on the Surface of Titanium under 10 ns Laser Irradiation without Focusing.

We report on the formation of rutile TiO flocculent laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) with high antireflectivity and superhydrophobicity on the surface of titanium under 10 ns 1064 nm laser irradiation without focusing. The center part of the Gaussian laser beam is used to deposit flocculent structure and the edge part used to produce LIPSSs. The melt and modification thresholds of titanium were determined first, and then, the melt and modification spot-overlap numbers, several responsible for the formation of flocculent structure and LIPSSs, were introduced.