Laser Micromachining of Titanium Aluminum Vanadium Alloy Rods

IntroductionOsteoblastic cell adhesion to the titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy was found to improve as non-random repetitive surface roughness was provided, the aim of the current work was to produce 10 µm laser micro-grooves on titanium close to the size of osteoblastic cell body, and the results were verified by profilometry and linear measurements of the scanning electron microscope images.Materials and methodsPlain titanium rods 5 mm in length and 1.5 mm in diameter were laser grooved using the coherent AVIA laser machine using different laser energies, and the resulting surface topographies were examined by the linear distance measurement tool of the scanning electron microscope for determination of the laser energy that produced an average of 10 µm groove width and depth. ResultsDifferent surface topographies were obtained ranging from surface melt down to specific micro-grooves of about 10 µm depth and width were produced with laser energy of 10 µJ. ConclusionThe current work produced 10 µm micro-grooves on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy using 10 µJ energy of ultraviolet laser.