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Micromachines
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Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology
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Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D：Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2026 | Viewed by 1633

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Qinghua Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Interests: laser materials processing; surface modification; wettability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Laser surface modification has become a promising technique for the fabrication of metallic functional surfaces due to the advantages of process flexibility, ease for automation, and environmental friendliness. With laser treatments, key surface properties of metallic materials can be modified, including surface microstructure, surface roughness, surface wettability, reflectance, mechanical properties as well as corrosion and abrasion resistance. Laser engineered surfaces are necessary for various applications in many industrial sectors, such as aeronautical, automotive, energy, or biomedical sectors. However, as an emerging surface processing technology, there are still many aspects to be further explored, including the interaction mechanism between the laser beam and materials, novel techniques for fabrication of functional structures, innovative techniques for characterization of surface functionalities, and development of high-efficient and low-cost laser-based processes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to cover the latest developments in the laser micro/nano fabrication and laser surface modification techniques towards design, modelling, fabrication, and characterization of metallic functional surfaces and surface property modification concerning control of microstructure, wettability, optical properties, corrosion, abrasion, and mechanical properties. We cordially invite you to contribute to this Special Issue. Review articles, communications, and full-length research papers are all welcome.

Dr. Qinghua Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • laser micro/nano fabrication
  • laser surface modification
  • functional surface
  • surface microstructure
  • surface chemistry
  • surface roughness
  • surface characterization
  • wettability
  • laser–material interaction mechanism
  • laser materials processing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4106 KB  
Article
Laser-Assisted Diamond Cutting for Low-Damage Fabrication of High-Q CaF2 Whispering-Gallery Mode Resonators
by Rongbiao Yang, Tao Jia, Jiamin Rong, Huanfei Wen, Zhidong Xu, Zihan Song, Enbo Xing, Jun Tang and Jun Liu
Micromachines 2026, 17(5), 581; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050581 - 7 May 2026
Viewed by 221
Abstract
Calcium fluoride (CaF2) crystals are an ideal material for fabricating high-quality whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators. However, their hard and brittle nature make it difficult to achieve low-damage, ultra-smooth surfaces through conventional cutting, which limits the optical performance of the resonators. To [...] Read more.
Calcium fluoride (CaF2) crystals are an ideal material for fabricating high-quality whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators. However, their hard and brittle nature make it difficult to achieve low-damage, ultra-smooth surfaces through conventional cutting, which limits the optical performance of the resonators. To address this, laser-assisted diamond cutting technology is proposed in this study for low-damage and high-quality fabrication. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the atomic-scale mechanism by which laser thermal effects reduce cutting forces and promote dislocation motion. Nano-scratch experiments further show that the critical depth of ductile–brittle transition (DBT) increases from 388 nm to 1070 nm, 2.76 times that of conventional cutting. Based on these results, ultra-precision turning of a high-quality hemispherical resonator with a Q factor of up to 1.3 × 108 was achieved. This study provides an effective solution for low-damage and high-performance resonator fabrication from hard and brittle optical crystals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology)
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15 pages, 2612 KB  
Article
Thermophysics-Informed Phenomenological Framework for Molten Material Self-Organization in Laser Remelting-Based Surface Polishing: Conceptualization and Preliminary Analysis
by Evgueni Bordatchev
Micromachines 2026, 17(5), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050528 - 26 Apr 2026
Viewed by 233
Abstract
The goal of laser polishing (LP) is to improve the surface quality of functional parts, components, and assemblies. LP is a complex nonlinear thermophysical process, in which laser radiation induces localized melting of a material with an initially rough surface topography. During LP, [...] Read more.
The goal of laser polishing (LP) is to improve the surface quality of functional parts, components, and assemblies. LP is a complex nonlinear thermophysical process, in which laser radiation induces localized melting of a material with an initially rough surface topography. During LP, the thermodynamic state evolves dynamically due to transient melt flow, heat transfer, and rapid solidification within the laser–material interaction zone. A smooth surface is formed through the interplay between surface tension-driven flow, which promotes energy minimization, and nonequilibrium effects associated with melting and solidification. From the perspective of self-organization, LP can be interpreted as an open system driven by energy input, where complex material redistribution leads to the evolution of surface topography. In this work, the self-organization of molten material is analyzed using chaos-based descriptors, including the Lyapunov exponent, phase portrait, approximate entropy, and the Hurst exponent, calculated from measured surface topographies before and after laser polishing. The results show that LP acts as a spatial low-pass filter, reducing high-frequency surface components associated with micromilling marks, and exhibits a directional bias in material redistribution relative to the laser scanning direction. Among the evaluated descriptors, the Lyapunov and Hurst exponents demonstrate consistent behaviors, indicating their suitability as robust indicators of surface state in post-process analysis. For the investigated conditions (Inconel 718), a laser fluence of 158.3 mJ/cm2 provided the best-achieved surface quality, corresponding to an improvement in surface roughness (Ra) of approximately 70% and the lowest Lyapunov exponent of 1.966 and highest Hurst exponent of 0.859. This study demonstrates that chaos-based analysis of surface topography provides a phenomenological framework for assessing process stability and surface evolution, offering a basis for thermophysics-informed development of LP in applications such as mold and die manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology)
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10 pages, 2277 KB  
Article
Laser-Assisted Diamond Turning for Anisotropy Suppression in Calcium Fluoride
by Enbo Xing, Jinsong Xue, Rongbiao Yang, Mingyue Wang, Huimin Zhou, Guohui Xing, Jianglong Li, Jiamin Rong, Huanfei Wen, Jun Tang and Jun Liu
Micromachines 2026, 17(4), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17040425 - 30 Mar 2026
Viewed by 426
Abstract
This paper proposes the use of laser-assisted cutting technology to control the brittle–plastic transition of single-crystal CaF2 through local thermal softening, thereby suppressing its processing anisotropy. Nano-scratch experiments show that heating significantly increases the critical plastic cutting depth of each crystal plane [...] Read more.
This paper proposes the use of laser-assisted cutting technology to control the brittle–plastic transition of single-crystal CaF2 through local thermal softening, thereby suppressing its processing anisotropy. Nano-scratch experiments show that heating significantly increases the critical plastic cutting depth of each crystal plane and reduces the inter-plane differences. Based on this, laser-assisted ultra-precision turning was used to fabricate CaF2 optical microcavities with a surface roughness below 10 nm, achieving a maximum quality factor of ~7.79 × 107, and significantly reducing the performance differences among different crystal orientations. The research indicates that this method can effectively promote uniform plastic flow on each crystal plane, providing an effective approach for the high-performance and consistent fabrication of anisotropic brittle optical components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology)
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16 pages, 1632 KB  
Article
CO2 Laser Micromachining of PTFE-Based PCBs: Predictive Modeling of Kerf Depth Through Design of Experiments
by Giorgio Pellei, Paolo Di Stefano, Luca Mascalchi and Renzo Centi
Micromachines 2026, 17(4), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17040404 - 26 Mar 2026
Viewed by 437
Abstract
The escalating demand for miniaturization in electronics necessitates advanced laser micromachining for precise micro-via fabrication in PTFE-based PCBs. This study addresses challenges in controlling CO2 laser kerf depth in PTFE, a material known for properties that complicate material removal. Employing a two-level [...] Read more.
The escalating demand for miniaturization in electronics necessitates advanced laser micromachining for precise micro-via fabrication in PTFE-based PCBs. This study addresses challenges in controlling CO2 laser kerf depth in PTFE, a material known for properties that complicate material removal. Employing a two-level full factorial Design of Experiments, the effects of number of loops, aperture, and pulse duration were systematically investigated. This analysis revealed that while pulse duration statistically impacted ablation depth, the number of loops was operationally most critical due to its direct proportionality with kerf depth in PTFE, leveraging its low thermal conductivity. Aperture, defining the laser spot size, was often constrained by PCB geometric specifications. The predictive models developed demonstrated robust generalizability across different PTFE-based laminates. Validation of the production of PCBs achieved a 100% success rate in meeting geometric tolerances and surface integrity. This DoE-based framework establishes a process window, significantly reducing parameter identification time and scrap, thereby enhancing manufacturing yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Micro/Nano Fabrication and Surface Modification Technology)
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