US 11,938,536 B2
Nanotextured metal powders for 3D printing of metals
Ottman A. Tertuliano, Philadelphia, PA (US); Philip J. DePond, San Mateo, CA (US); Andrew Curtis Lee, Stanford, CA (US); Xun Gu, Palo Alto, CA (US); Wei Cai, Palo Alto, CA (US); and Adrian J. Lew, Stanford, CA (US)
Assigned to The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/706,259.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/166,451, filed on Mar. 26, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0305553 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B22F 1/07 (2022.01); B22F 1/05 (2022.01); B22F 1/065 (2022.01); B22F 1/145 (2022.01); B33Y 70/00 (2020.01); C23F 1/02 (2006.01); C23F 1/34 (2006.01); B22F 9/16 (2006.01)
CPC B22F 1/07 (2022.01) [B22F 1/05 (2022.01); B22F 1/065 (2022.01); B22F 1/145 (2022.01); B33Y 70/00 (2014.12); C23F 1/02 (2013.01); C23F 1/34 (2013.01); B22F 9/16 (2013.01); B22F 2301/10 (2013.01); B22F 2304/10 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. 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.