Creating microfluidic channels functionalized with micro- and nano-scale features via femtosecond laser surface processing

We demonstrate the ability to create functionalized microfluidic channels using Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing (FLSP). FLSP is an emerging advanced manufacturing technology used to modify the surface properties of materials directly and permanently by producing self-organized quasi-periodic micro- and nano-scale surface features along with surface and subsurface chemical and grain structure changes. We demonstrate on Hastelloy X that by controlling the laser fluence and pulse count, the depth of the microchannels and height of the FLSP microstructures within the microchannels can be controlled independently.