Laser Marked and Textured Biomaterial Evaluated by Mott-Schottky Technique

The effect of an optical fiber laser marking and texturing techniques on the surface of the ISO 5832-1 stainless steel via the Mott-Schottky approach was evaluated in this work. This is one of the most commonly used biomaterial for permanent implants manufacture. It was found that the pulsed laser treatment increases the susceptibility to corrosion by changes on the roughness, microstructure and surface chemical composition; which affect the surface passivity, comparatively to the non treated biomaterial. In this study, the Mott-Schottky technique was very sensitive to identify the effect of the type of surface treatment, marking and texturing, according to the laser pulse frequency modification on the electronic properties of the oxide layer. The change in the semiconductors behavior was the main procedure proposed to explain the increased susceptibility to localized corrosion associated to the areas affected by the Yb optical fiber laser engraving and texturing process.