Tribological phenomena play a decisive role in diverse systems. For many years, researchers have sought to alleviate these problems and to understand their origin. There are many potential solutions to manipulate friction. In particular, the rapidly growing field of laser surface texturing has attracted a lot of attention in the last decades and shown to be an effective means of improving tribological properties. A possible approach of laser surface texturing to scrutinize the effects of various pattern geometries and lateral feature sizes in one single laser shot is the so called Laser Interference Metallurgy (LIMET) which will be applied within this thesis. The aim is to study the microstructural and topographic possibilities of LIMET concerning the tribological performance of laser-patterned thin film systems (Au and TiAl multilayer) and bulk aluminium as well as steel surfaces. It will be shown that depending on the laser fluence for example, distinct grain size arrangements and intermetallic phase composites can be created with superior tribological properties compared to the unpatterned reference situation. Moreover, a successful process combination of micro-coining and LIMET will be presented with an enhanced oil retainment capability under lubrication. Finally, the results of laser-textured steel surfaces and their ability to geometrically interlock will be shown. Depending on the relative alignment between the textured sliding surfaces and the selected pattern line-spacing, the frictional response can be significantly influenced. Most of the experimental results will be directly correlated to simulations in order to reveal the underlying phenomena.
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