The high demand of the micro-products manufacturing, driven by the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), has generated a series of new production techniques. Micro-cladding laser technique can be considered as an evolution of the conventional laser cladding. We propose this additive technique as an alternative to thin film techniques, based on its capability to process different kind of materials having higher deposition rates. Lateral powder injection laser micro-cladding has been applied to produce metallic clad strips with geometrical characteristics in the micrometer range (i.e.: features in the range of the tenths of microns). Main feature of laser micro-cladding processing is the ability to reduce the thermal load applied to the substrate, a critical parameter in some applications where the laser interaction zone is close to sensitive elements, but keeping the good mechanical properties of the coating material. Reparation of defective micro-parts and rapid prototyping are areas of application of this rapid one step micro-coating laser technique to explore.
A new experimental set-up based on the use of a single mode fibre laser and a novel powder stream conveying system adequate to supply submicron particles was used to produce the micro-coatings. A systematic study of the influence of several processing parameters on the geometric features of the clad strips was carried out.