Product Code: ICA10_P177

Picosecond Laser Fabrication of Nitinol for Coronary Stent Application
Authors:
N. Muhammad, Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
D. Whitehead, Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
F. Viejo, Corrosion and Protection Centre , School of Materials, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
R. Abuaisha, Corrosion and Protection Centre , School of Materials, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
A. Boor, Swisstec AG; Schaan Liechtenstein
W. Oppenlaender, Swisstec Ag; Schaan Liechtenstein
Z. Liu, Corrosion and Protection Centre , School of Materials, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
L. Li, Laser Processing Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester; - Great Britain
Presented at ICALEO 2010

Nitinol (a shape memory nickel-titanium alloy) is one of the desirable materials for medical stent applications, due to its high corrosion resistance, self-expansion and biocompatibility. The stents are usually made from thin (<200 μm) walled tubes of 2-4 mm diameter, by Nd:YAG laser cutting. As a result of long pulses (10e-3 to10e-2 seconds) of these lasers, considerable post processing is required to remove heat affected zones, and to improve surface finishes and geometry. This paper presents the feasibility and basic process characteristics of picosecond laser micromachining of nitinol tubes for coronary stent applications. In this study, kerf widths, surface roughness, heat affected zone (HAZ) and striations have been characterized and compared with existing Nd:YAG laser cutting methods from the literature.