Nature developed numerous solutions to solve various technical problems related to material surfaces by combining the physico-chemical properties of a material with periodically aligned micro/nanostructures in a sophisticated manner. The utilization of ultra-short pulsed lasers allows mimicking numerous of these features by generating laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). In this review paper, we describe the physical background of LIPSS generation as well as the physical principles of surface related phenomena like wettability, reflectivity, and friction. Then we introduce several biological examples including e.g., lotus leafs, springtails, dessert beetles, moth eyes, butterfly wings, weevils, sharks, pangolins, and snakes to illustrate how nature solves technical problems, and we give a comprehensive overview of recent achievements related to the utilization of LIPSS to generate superhydrophobic, anti-reflective, colored, and drag resistant surfaces. Finally, we conclude with some future developments and perspectives related to forthcoming applications of LIPSS-based surfaces.
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2016
- Venue
Materials
- Publication date
2016-06-01
- Fields of study
Medicine, Materials Science, Physics, Engineering
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
CONCEPTS
- anti-reflective surfaces
Surfaces engineered to reduce the amount of reflected light.
Aliases: anti-reflective
- bio-inspired functional surfaces
Surfaces designed to emulate useful biological surface properties through patterned micro/nanostructures.
- biological examples
Organisms and natural structures used in the review as analogs for solving technical surface problems.
- colored surfaces
Surfaces that exhibit color through structural or surface-pattern effects rather than pigment alone.
Aliases: colored
- drag-resistant surfaces
Surfaces engineered to reduce fluid drag during flow over the material.
Aliases: drag resistant
- friction
Resistance to relative motion at an interface, discussed here as a key tribological property.
- laser-induced periodic surface structures
Laser-generated periodic micro- or nanostructures formed on material surfaces and used as the central patterning platform in the review.
Aliases: LIPSS
- reflectivity
The ability of a surface to reflect incident light, discussed here as a key optical property.
- superhydrophobic surfaces
Extremely water-repellent surfaces characterized by very high apparent contact angles and low wetting.
Aliases: superhydrophobic
- ultra-short pulsed lasers
Laser sources with very short pulse durations that are used to produce periodic surface structures.
Aliases: ultrashort pulsed lasers, ultra-short pulsed laser
- wettability
The tendency of a surface to be wetted by a liquid, discussed here as a key surface property.