Diode laser modification of ceramic material surface properties for improved wettability and adhesion

To date, very little work has been published with regard specifically to th e use of lasers for modifying the surface properties of materials in order to improve their wettability and adhesion characteristics, Using a 60 W hig h power diode laser (HPDL) the effects of HPDL radiation on the wettability and adhesion characteristics of certain ceramic materials have been determ ined. It was found that laser treatment of the materials surfaces' modified the surface energy and accordingly, wetting experiments, by the sessile dr op technique using a variety of test liquids, revealed that laser treatment of the range of ceramic materials surfaces resulted in a decrease in the c ontact angles. The work shows clearly that laser radiation can be used to a lter the wetting and adhesion characteristics of a number of ceramic materi als by means of changing the surface energy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.