Ultrashort Laser Texturing for Tuning Surface Morphology and Degradation Behavior of the Biodegradable Fe-20Mn Alloy for Temporary Implants

Biodegradable metallic alloys are promising materials for the development of temporary medical implants, including cardiovascular and orthopedic devices. The present work explores the surface modification of a biodegradable Fe-20Mn alloy by means of ultrashort laser texturing and the correlation between the laser-induced surface morphology and the degradation behavior. In detail, the effect of different processing parameters on surface morphology is explored and compared with the unprocessed surface. It is found that laser texturing can tune the degradation rate, selectively inducing positive (+29%) or negative (-31%) change with respect to the untreated surface.