Functional surface modification using tailored ultrashort-pulse laser light for applications in Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry instruments.

Ultrashort-pulse lasers allow to deposit extremely large peak intensities into a material, albeit with an exquisite precision. Thus, they have become a prevalent tool in many processes that require micro-precision material modification. One such applications is the micro-structuring of functional surfaces in Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry instruments. Laser light can be tailored to induce permanent changes to the surface properties of materials not easily achieved by other means, for example to change the local chemistry, the local crystal structure and the local morphology. Such methods are expected to affect the behaviour of electrodes in a Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry instrument. Structuring the incident laser light enables tailored laser-material interactions to be controlled with very high spatial resolutions, leading to extremely accurate control of the local surface properties relative to the bulk and other regions on the surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]