One-step production of organized surface architectures on polymeric materials by direct laser interference patterning

A single-step process for the production of organized surface architectures on the commercial polymer films by direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) is discussed. The DLIP method permits the fabrication of repetitive one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) patterns and microstructures by direct irradiation of the sample surface with coherent beams of light. The results shows that the previously calculated interference patterns could be directly produced on polymeric surface. The cross-section of the structured polymers changes depending on the intensity of the laser beams. The photomachinability of polymers was highly influenced by laser wavelength. High absorbance of the polymeric materials at specific wavelengths allows the reduction of the intensity of the laser required to achieve a determined structure depth.