A hydrophobic surface formed on a copper alloy sample using femtosecond laser texturing. The contact angle between this surface and a water drop is 150 degrees, which means that the surface has the potential for self-cleaning, anti-icing and other properties linked to hydrophobicity. Such wettability manipulation is called the Lotus effect and is possible due to the hierarchical structures that are formed with the help of ultrashort pulses. This type of surface can be formed on metals like titanium, steel, aluminum and other materials such as different plastic and glass substances. In general, femtosecond laser texturing gives flexible surface manipulation conditions for forming targeted structures in applications ranging from medical tool surface functionalization to fluid separation and friction manipulation.
