The University of Nebraska –Lincoln’s Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces is now home to a first-of-its-kind laser in the United States to be used for a specialized method of surface modification.
This approach — called femtosecond laser surface processing — beams an ultrafast laser at a metal material, changing its micro- and nanoscale features and its chemistry. These changes confer properties conducive to a wide range of applications in space, defense, medicine and beyond.
Because it offers advantages over traditional surface modification methods, FLSP is considered a manufacturing method of the future and is an area in which Husker researchers have led the way for more than a decade. The new laser, purchased with funding from the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, comes at a pivotal time in the field.
“The laser technology is advancing very rapidly right now,” said Craig Zuhlke, center co-director and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “It’s a very exciting time. This is going to become a manufacturing field because of the lasers that are now available.”
