Initiated by ALPHANOV and the University of Parma (UNIPR) and funded by the European Union (H2020), the TresClean project is built on a close partnership between both academic searchers and industrialist establishments. In order to develop texturing antimicrobial surfaces using high power ultra-short lasers.

These innovative surfaces produced without any chemical treatment can meet a large range of applications such as self-cleaning and aseptic surface for food packaging industry or household appliances. The processes developed throughout the TresClean projet should meet the industrial needs and expectation especially in terms of productivity able to reach a processing speed of 40 mm²/s.

ALPhANOV’s involvement in the TresClean project:

ALPHANOV will contribute to develop laser processes, based on the LIPSS procedure, able to adjust the wettability on treated surfaces and make them either hydrophobic or super-hydrophobic. The laser used to achieve specified processing speeds could deliver up to 350W of average power at very high repetition rate (a few MHz) and with sub-picosecond pulse duration. The laser will be connected to a polygonal scanner, developed by RAYLASE who also takes part of the TresClean projet, allowing the laser beam to move at an exceeding speed of 100 m/s.

Benefiting from the Parma’s University abilities, ALPHANOV will be able to specify the appropriate structures to avoid Pseudomonas Aeruginosa bacteria (cylindrical shape with a length of 2 μm) and Staffilococcus Aureus (spherical), two bacteria with a 0.5um diameter, from polluting the surfaces.

The LIPPS laser processes are expected to be used for multiple purposes like packaging tubes treatment for liquid food, or for injection molds on all kinds of household appliances.