Surface morphology modifications of titanium based implant induced by 40 picosecond laser pulses at 266 nm

Surface modification of titanium based implant Ti6Al4V induced by an Nd:YAG laser operating at a wavelength of 266 nm, with pulses of 40 ps, is presented. It is shown that the laser beam at fluences 0.96 J cm-2 and 0.29 J cm-2 significantly modifies the alloy surface. The damage threshold is estimated at 0.12 J cm-2. The irradiations at 0.96 J cm-2 were accompanied by the occurrence of plasma. The characteristics of the damage are: (a) smoothed center of the damage area, (b) 20 nm cracks, (c) 200 nm parallel periodic surface structures (PSS). The periodicity of the PSS corresponds to the laser wavelength. Such modifications of the Ti6Al4V implant surface are applicable to medical practice. Surface morphology of the implant was monitored by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to an energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyzer.