Laser Surface Modification of Ti6Al4V Implants

To improve the biocompatibility of implants, surface medication is a common practice. Depending on the surface medication process, the physical and/or chemical properties of the surface are altered, keeping the bulk properties same.  The flexibility and wide application potential of laser as a surface modification tool gives it certain advantages over the traditional physical and chemical processes. The biocompatibility of Ti6AlV, already having suitable bulk physical properties, can be enhanced using different laser surface modification (LSM) techniques, as shown by many researchers. In this paper, the different routes of laser surface modification have been critically studied to find out their respective advantages and disadvantages. The LSM processes have been categorized into five major groups, namely laser surface cladding, surface modification using laser irradiation, direct laser texturing, laser lithography and laser additive manufacturing.