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In recent years, the improved understanding of the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) has led to an emerging variety of applications that modify the optical, mechanical, and chemical properties of many materials. Such structures strongly depend on the laser beam polarization and are formed usually after irradiation with ultrashort linearly polarized laser pulses. The most accepted explanation for the origin of the structures is based on the interference of the incident laser radiation with electromagnetic surface waves that propagate or scatter at the surface of the irradiated materials. This leads to an intensity modulation that is finally responsible for the selective ablation in the form of parallel structures with periods ranging from hundreds of nanometers up to some micrometers. The versatility when forming such structures is based on the high reproducibility with different wavelengths, pulse durations and repetition rate laser sources, customized micro- and nanometric spatial resolutions, and compatibility with industrially relevant processing speeds when combined with fast scanning devices. In this contribution, we review the latest applications in the rapidly emerging field of surface functionalization through LIPSS, including biomimetic functionalities on fluid transport, control of the wetting properties, specific optical responses in technical materials, improvement of tribological performance on metallic surfaces, and bacterial and cell growth for medical devices, among many others.
The exciting properties of micro- and nano-patterned surfaces found in natural species hide a virtually endless potential of technological ideas, opening new opportunities for innovation and exploitation in materials science and engineering. Due to the diversity of biomimetic surface functionalities, inspirations from natural surfaces are interesting for a broad range of applications in engineering, including phenomena of adhesion, friction, wear, lubrication, wetting phenomena, self-cleaning, antifouling, antibacterial phenomena, thermoregulation and optics. Lasers are increasingly proving to be promising tools for the precise and controlled structuring of materials at micro- and nano-scales. When ultrashort-pulsed lasers are used, the optimal interplay between laser and material parameters enables structuring down to the nanometer scale. Besides this, a unique aspect of laser processing technology is the possibility for material modifications at multiple (hierarchical) length scales, leading to the complex biomimetic micro- and nano-scale patterns, while adding a new dimension to structure optimization. This article reviews the current state of the art of laser processing methodologies, which are being used for the fabrication of bioinspired artificial surfaces to realize extraordinary wetting, optical, mechanical, and biological-active properties for numerous applications. The innovative aspect of laser functionalized biomimetic surfaces for a wide variety of current and future applications is particularly demonstrated and discussed. The article concludes with illustrating the wealth of arising possibilities and the number of new laser micro/nano fabrication approaches for obtaining complex high-resolution features, which prescribe a future where control of structures and subsequent functionalities are beyond our current imagination.