Nanotextured metal powders for 3D printing of metals
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
InventorsOttman A. Tertuliano, Philip J. DePond, Andrew Curtis Lee, Xun Gu, Wei Cai, Adrian J. Lew
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Abstract
Metal powder particles for use in additive manufacturing are made by removing material from the surface of the particles using wet chemical etching to create a nanoscale texturing of the surface, increasing absorptivity by the metal powder particles of incident laser light and maintaining flowability. The nanoscale texturing has sub-wavelength features at laser wavelengths in the range 800-1100 nm. The particles are substantially spherical and have mean diameters in the range 10-70 μm.
Claims8
A method for processing metal powder particles for use in additive manufacturing, the method comprising:
- performing maskless wet chemical etching of a metal surface of the metal powder particles to preferentially etch material at grain boundaries and dislocations from the metal surface and to create a nanoscale texturing of the metal surface, resulting in nanotextured metal powder particles, whereby absorptivity by the nanotextured metal powder particles of incident laser light of predetermined wavelength (λ) is increased and the flowability is maintained;
- wherein the metal powder particles are composed substantially of copper, silver, gold, aluminum, platinum, tungsten, niobium, chromium, or zinc;
- wherein the nanoscale texturing is characterized in that the root mean square roughness (σ) and correlation length (ξ0) of surface features resulting from the nanoscale texturing of the metal surface is less than the predetermined wavelength (λ), wherein the predetermined wavelength (λ) is in the range 800-1100 nm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.