CA1315966C

CA1315966C - Laser treatment of fibers

Info

Publication number: CA1315966C
Application number: CA 523044
Authority: CA
Inventors: Adelgund Bossmann; Eckhard Schollmeyer
Original assignee: DEUTSCHES TEXTILFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM NORD-WEST E.V.
Current assignee: DEUTSCHES TEXTILFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM NORD-WEST EV
Priority date: 1985-11-14
Filing date: 1986-11-14
Publication date: 1993-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2010-04-13
Also published as: US5017423A; AU6548086A; DE3679316D1; JPS6440664A; AU597290B2; EP0245320B1; JP2587925B2; BR8606973A; ES2003928A6; KR880700878A; WO1987003021A1; EP0245320A1

Abstract

FIBER, FILAMENT, YARN AND/OR FLAT ARTICLES AND/OR
NONWOVEN MATERIAL CONTAINING THESE, AS WELL AS A
PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THE FORMER
Abstract of the Disclosure A fiber, a filament, yarn and/or a flat article and/or nonwoven material containing these, which has on its surface a microstructure consisting of dotted, linear and/or areal depressions and/or elevation, which have a depth or height, respectively, up to ca. 10 micrometers and extend across ca. 10% to 100% of the surface of the fiber and/or the filament.
A process for the manufacture of the fiber, the filament, yarn, flat article and/or nonwoven material provides that the fiber, the filament, yarn, flat article and/or nonwoven material is irradiated with a laser, and that as a result its surface is fused, melted on and/or removed in a dotted, linear and/or areal fashion.

Description

13~a~66 ~IBE~, FILAMENT, YARN AN~/OR FLAT A~TICLES ~ND/~R
~ONWOVEN MAT~RIAL CONTAININ~ THESE, AS WE~L AS A
PRO~ESS FO~ PRO~UCING THE FORM~
The inver!tlon con~e~ns a fiber, a ~ilament, yarns, flat articles and/or nonwoven or plle material ~ontaining these, ~5 well a~ a pro~e~s f~r producing the f ormer~
There are known fi~er&, filament~, yarns, fl~t ar~icles ~nd/or nonwov~n materials with varying surface ~tructure. In synthetic polymer fl~er~
ilament~, or th~ yarns made ~rom these5 thi~ v~rying ~ur~ace str~cture ~an be obtained, for ~xample, by using spinning nozzle~ o~ di~faring de~ign~ duriny pri~ary spinnlng, ~o that ~he fibers or filam~nts spun in thi~ manner have a ~orresponding p~ofile, whi~h shows itself, ~or example, in a corre~pon~in~ round, o~al, trianyular, st~rshaped or multi~ornered cros~
sect.ion. In a~itiont natural fi~ers, as for example co~ton or wool yarn~ n he change~ ~y mer~erizing or ~hlorinat~ ng, He~e, ~he yarn i~ treated in ~n aqueous mixture ~ontaining ~lkaline or ~hlorine, that causes a ~hange in the croA~ ~ectional shape of the ~vtton y~rn~
and a ~hange in the ~cale st~ucture of the wool yarn~ s however, this i~ po~sible.only within a ~mall are~
without ~rn dama~e, whi~h manife~ts itself in varying dye afinity or printability or in lo~s of li~uld. In ~ddition, such pro~es~e~ do not ~truc~ure, hut ra~her ~mooth the ~urfaces.
In fl~t arti~les one must di~tingui~h between the ~echanical and chemical process~ used to chan~e th~ ~urfa¢e, Thus, mechanical processes are b~sed on the ~t th~t ~he surface of the fl~t arti~le iB
embo~;~ed by mean~ o~ ~ structured roller p~ir located in the calender in ~ccordan¢e with the ~tru~urin~ of the roller~. Here, the degree of embossing depends on the reæpactive good~, the embo~sing t~mperatu~e and ~g 131~ 6 press~re. Such surface changes cau~ed by me~hanical de~orm~tion have the di~advantage that in many case~
they are no~ perm~nent an~ are no longer pre~ent after short~term ~se or after repeated maintenance treatment of th~ flat article. In addltion, ther~ is a}ways t~e dan~er during the e~bosslng pro~e~ that dirt o~ yarn particlçs are depoeit~d on the roller pair, which result~ in f~lty ~nd non-oorrectible defi~ienc~ Or the ~ood Also, due to the roller pair~ which are us~d, embossing has li~its ~et by the dimenaions of the structuring, so that ~he latt~r uRually has a length, wi~th and dep~h of se~eral millimeters ~nd is ~here~ore relatively coar~e with respeet to the dimensions o~ ths ~ibers or filaments.
As for the ~hemieal pro~esses ~or ~han~ing the ~urfaee, the hydrolysis pro~esxe~ for $1~t article of triacetate and polye~ter ~i~ers mu~t be mentioned in particular. ,lere, the flat ar~ usually tr~ated ~or a ~er~ain time at a cert~in te~pera~ure in a mixtUr~ containing ~lk~li, durin~ which treatment, dependiny on the alkali eoncentratiOn, trea~ment time and tempbrAture~ ~aponlf i~At~on of th~ ~iber caus~3 a ~enier d~crea~e, while a s~ructuring oP ~he ~urface of the ibers, filaments or yarn~ used in th~ ~lat ~rtic~e does not take pl~ce. Rather, the s~r~ce of the fiber, or the filament or yarn, i~ smoothed by reduction.
~ E-05 32 0~ 973 d~s~ribeq a proc~s for the produetion o~ fibrillated fiber~ ~ere, ~ polymer granulate is compacted to a certain bulk weigh~ in such a manner that it contains ga~ occlusions. Sub5~quently the gr~nulate is ~intered to a certain dep~h, and ~n intermediate product is cr~at~. During this process the ga~ o~cluded in the interme~iat~ product e~cape~ Thiæ creates ~m~ll bli~ter$ ha~in~ crat~rs on thelr surface, which blisters are dis~ri~uted over the cross ~ection of the intermediAte product.
Subsequ~ntly, the inter~diate product i~ s~retched out 1 3 ~ 6 of it6 natural ~hape, and it i~ at thi~ point that the actual ~iber i~ prod-lced, while the ~tretching cau~e3 the craters on the surface to burst ax the fibrils are ~ormed . Consequently, a f iber produ~ed in this manner has on its surf~ce merely eon~rasting fibrils which, how~verr have a length of over loo mlcrometers.
is the purpo~ of the invention to l?rovide I a fiber~ a f il~ment, yarn and/o~ f la~ articl~ and~or nonwoven material containin~ ~he~e, which ha~ an ~specially large speci~ urface ~nd ~hus a specifically good adhesiveness. ln addition, the inven~cion creates a process ~o~ the production of such a fiber OL ~uch ~ ~ilamen~, y~rn and/or flat ar~icle and/or nonwoven material containin~ these.
This purpose is attained by the invention by m~an~ o a iber, a filament, yarn and/or flat article ~nd/or nonwoven material with the characteristic~ o~`
patent claim 1 and by m~an~ of a proce~s ~ith the ch~r~ct~ristics of patent ¢l~lm 12.
The invention'~ fiber~ or the invention'~
fil~ment, yarn~ 1at article ~nd/or nonwoven m~terial haR on its ~u~ao~ a m~croBtruoture consis~ing o~
do~d, li near and/or areal depre~sivns ~nd/or elevations, which have a de~th, or hei~h~
: re~pe~tively, of up t~ 10 micrometer~ or micron6 ~nd extend ~cro~s ~. 10~ to o~ 100% o~ the ~urface of th~
fiber ~nd/or the fil~ment~ Subje~t to the microstructur~n~, the invention'3 ~iber or th~
filament, y~rn, ~lat article and/or nonwoven materiAl has, a~ compa~ed with tra~ltionally formed ~Eibers, f~lam~nt~, yarn~ ~la~ article~ or nonwoven m~terial~
a co~ide~ably enlarg~ speci f ic ~urace, whi~h i~ the ~ase partlcular~y w~len the depre~sions~ or ~levations, r0~pecti~lely, e~tend over ~he entire surface o~ ~he fiber~, or ~ilam~nt~ respectively, which h~ve b~en worked into the y~rn, flat article or nonwoven ma~erial. Suc:h an inc:rea~e in the spec:ifi~ surfa~e i nclude~ a series o~ ~dvantages .

!

131~9~t~
TQ begin with, it improves ~he adhesivene~6, ~or example wlth coatings, gluings, pigments with bondin~ sys~ems or ~imilar items, ~ince these coatings etc. are not only mo~e strongly absorbed or ad~orbed because of the incr~a~ed roughness of the ~rface, but al.~o b~cau~e they are mu5t more f lrmly ~eposite~ ~nd bound in the s~rface and with mu~h greater re.5i8t8nc~
to ~ehanical qtreQ~es~ Also, ~ecau~e o~ the ~icrostr~c~ure and the ooncomitant roughnes~, the frictional resi~tanc0 between the fiberæ or filaments which have been worked into a yarn, fl~t article or nonwoven mateLial is incr0ased, so tha~ their movement rslative to each other is ~onsiderably more di~icult.
In the ca e of yarns, this re.~ults ~or example in increased Qtrength, and in the case of flat articles or nonwoven ma~erial~ it result~ in an improvement of ~liding re~i~tance and possi~ly of seam stren~t~.
Likewise, the ab~orptive capaci ty o the micro~ructured 6urfa~es of ~he fiberst ila~ents, yarns, Elat ~rticle6 and~or nonwoven material~ i~
increased, which mani~e~ts it~elf, particularly in ~ynthe~ic $i~ers, as improved physiPlogical and~or permanent antis~atic properties. As a re~ult of the increase o~ the ~p~cif ic sur~ace the inven~ion '~
fibers, fil~ment~, ~arns, flat articles or nonwoven materialg h~ve excell~nt filtration proper~ies, so that ~hey can ~e ~ed parti~ularly well, ~or example, or the production of filters ~or th~ filtration of ~evera~eæ or ~or the æ~paration of f ine dust in room climata ~on~rols. The invention's fibers. fil~nts, y~rnæ" ~l~t articles ~ndJor nonwoven mate~ial~ also of fer a ~erie~ o~ advantages in the f ield of !
me~icîne. Th~y can be u~ed~ for example, f~r the production o surgical sewing material or prosthe~lc articl:e~, such as ar~ifici~l veins, whiGh have con~iderably ~reater r~sorp~lve ~apaçi~y a~ compared with traditional fibers~ ~llaments, yarns, flat l -s-:l 3 ~ 6 article~ or nonwoven m~erials~ Likewi~e, microstructured hollow fibers used in artifieial kidneys have con~iderably improved exchange co~fi~ient~ a5 compared with traditional hollow fibers.
In the area of fiber-reinforce~ material~, a~l for example, flber-reinforced plastic6, tire~, o~
~iber-reinforced evn~r~te, the microstru~ture~ ~ur f ace~
! of the fiber~/ filaments, yarns, fl~t ~rticles and/or nonwoven ~aterial~ have, a~ a reYult o~ the improv~d sur~a~ roughness, improved adhe~ivenes~ to th~ matrix ~urround ng them, as, for example, rubber~ pla~tic or concrete, whi¢h mani~e~t~ itsel~, ~vr example, in lo~ger ~urfae~ life and increa~ed ~trength~
~ ep~nding on the respective applic~tion and the ~oncolnitant required or de~ired s~rface enlargement~ the depres~ion~ ~nd/or elevations of the microstru~ture ~an also extend over only par~ of the ~ur~ace oE the fib~r or the filament~ for example betwean ea ~ ~0~ and ~a. 80%. The general ~ul~ is that the size of the microstructure~ area decreases with increaaed working-in of the fi~er or the fila~ent into the yarn, flat article or nonwoven material. Thu~, in case of relatively loosely adju~te~ yarnR, ~lat I ~rticles or nonwoven material~ the depr~s~ion5 and/or eleva~ion~ o~ ~he miOro~tru~ture extend preferably over ~ ca. 60 to ~ f the surfaee o~ the fibers or filaments j worked into the yarn, flat article or nonwoven ! mat~rial, and in relativel~ ~ensely a~ ted yarn~, 1at ~rticles or n~nwoven m~terial~ ~hey extend over ~aO 4û ~o 60% o~ the slAr~ce of th~ fibers or filalnent~
worke~ into the y~rn? fl~t arti~:le or nonwc)ven materiAl.
I In a preferred ver~ion of the ~iber, ilament, y~n flat ar~icle and/or non~oven m~terial of the invention~ the micro~tructure is ~or~d a~ lln~r i depres~ion~ andfor elevatlon~/ which extend mo~tly ~ 3 ~

tran~ver~ly to the longitudinal axis o~ the f iber or the f ilament . The linear depxes~ion~ and/or ele~tions have depths, or heigh~, re~pectively, between ca~ 0.1 microme~er and ca. 2 micrometers, preferdbly between . ca. O.S micrometer and ca. 1 micrometer, and w$~ths up to ~a. 1 micrometer~ pref~ra~ly b~tween ca. 0.3 mieromater and 0.6 mic~orneter. Their mutual di~t~nee i~ be~.ween caO 1 micrometer and c~.. 5 mic~omeker~;, pre~erably be~ween ca. 1 mi~rometer and ca~ 3 mlcrometer~
In addition the ~iber, ~ilament~ y~rn~ flat article or nonwoven material of the inven~ion ean in~lude rea~ting ~roups, such a&, for example, basi~ Or a~id groups, in ~he area of th~ ~urfaee of ~he fiber or the filamen~. PreferAbly the are~ is ~hat seotion of the fiber or filament ~urface which include~ the above-de~cribed micro~tructure.
The lnventlon'~ proee~s ~or the production of the above~de~cribed fiber, the ~ilament, yarn, and/or flat article ~n~/or nonwoven ma~eri~l oont~ining ~he~e, is bullt on the basic id~a not to ~hange the ~urface of the fibe~, ~ilament/ y~rn, fla~ article and~or nonwoven material by mechanic~l deformation, a~ in the abo~e-mentioned ~tate of technology, bu~ ~y mean~ vf ~otted, linear or ~r~al fusin~ melting-on an~/or reduction~
the nece&~ry energy being gener~ted by a la~er. ~y synehronizing the wAve length and ener~y of the l~ser b~am and ~he gize or form of the irrAdi~ted area with the re~pec~ e guh~trate to be treA~ed, lt i~ possi41e to provide the surface of the fi~er or the ilamenlt wlth a variably formet9 mierostructllring, which at the ~ame ~ime cau~e~ a ~orre~pondin~ enlarg~m~nt o~ the ~ur~ce, a8 w~ll as ~0 par~i~lly reduce the ~urface ~s viewed tow~rd th~ cross-seetion, and thu~ ~o ob~3in a ~enier re~u~tion.
Such ~ process, as comp~r~d with the above~
mant:ione~ ~t~te o~ technology, h~; a ~eries of i 131~

~vanta~es. It 1~ pos~ible, for example, to use the invention's ~ro~es~ in an especi~lly ~imple manner with iber~, filament~ or ~arns on the one hand, ~nd with flat articles and nonwov~n material~ on the o~her~
sinee the above-de~ribed ~ur~ace s~r~cturing or denier reduction occu~ without contact, ~or this reason the device used ~or ~uch a pro~e~ doe~ not need ~pecial equipment ad justed to the ~eometry of the r~pective ~ubstr~te to be treated, such ~, for example, corre~pondingly formed roller-pairs in the known calender. In ~ddltion~ the sur~aces ereated by ~he invention's proce~s are, as deseribed above, very finely ~txuctured, while thij str~cturing i~ permanent in sub~equent u~e ~nd ~peeially with re~pe~t to ~xtreme maintenan~e tre~tments, sinc~ it i~ not based on a mechanical deormation o~ the surface. a~ in the state of techn~logy eited above, but rather on fu~ing, melting-on or reduction o the ~me. Al~o~ as compared with the known pro~esse~ the ~nvention's process i~
~on~ider~ly saf~r for the environment, ~in~e che~i~als ~uch a~ ~hlorine or lye solutions are not required for structuring the ~ur~ace~ Furth~rmore, rin~in~ or treatment bath~ h~ated to correspondir-g temperAtures are not neces~ary, which thu~ re~ults in ~nergy and water ~avings, AlSo~ in the invention's pr~ce~s the derivative product~ of the ibers or filaments ~enerated during the mi~ro~truc~uring or denier ~eduction do not g~t into the wa~te water, ~ince ~hey evaporate d~e to the energy provid~d ~y the la~er ~nd can be ~eparate~ from tha exhaus~ air ~i~h rela~ively lit~l~ ef~ort, fo~ example b~ me~ns of ~rre~pondingly designed f il~ers or condenser~.
In the invention's proces~, the choice of the la~er is b~s~d on the fibe~ sub~r~e to be ~reated and on th~ respectl~6 energy, wave length and p~wer o~ the laser-~enerated beams. B~sically any laser can b~ used which ~an generate beams with a oorresponding ener~y, .

1 3 ~

wa~e length of power which i8 suPicient to accomplish the above-described fusing, melting-on or reduction of the sur~ace. Th~s, for example, rare g~3 ion la~er~
are suitable, such as AR or ~r ion la er~ that opera~e in a w~ve length range betwe~n oa O 400 nm and ca . 800 j nm and which ean b~ tuned through to indlvidu~l wave len~th~ Likewise, the radiation can be acco~plished wth a Naodym-YAG-laser ~Ne-YAG) wi~h a wave length of 1 rni~rometer. C0-lasers ~ith a wave length of 5.2 microme~ers, or CO2 la~er~ with a wav~ length bet~een 9.6 to 10~ ~icrome~ers can he u~d, ~oo. o~her gas la~er~, whiGh normally op~rate in a wave length r2nge be~ween ca. 157 and 351 nm, are also suitable, where wave length reductions can be ef~eeted by means of re~uèncy multiplica~ion~ E~pecially suitable for generating laser beam~ are the Excimer lasers. whi~h use as the la~er medi~m, for example, ~2~ ArF, KrCl, ~rF ~ Xe~l ~ N2 and XeF and which ~enera~e beam~ with a wave len~th 1S7 nm, 193 nm, ~22 nm, 24~ nm~ 308 nm, 337 nm, and 3Sl nm. The respective surface to be treated can be treat~d with a beam impul~e a8 uell a~ ~
! p~rmanent bea~0 With re~pect to the energy o a pul~e ~eam one must consider tha~, with pulse dur~tion between cac 10-3 and 10 15 ~econd6, p~ferably ~et~een ca~ 14-3 and ca. 10-8 seconds, the ener~y should ~e between ca. 5 an~ ca~ 500 mJ/em2, pre~erably betweer~
I ca. 20 and ca. 50 m~m2. of ~our~e, it is also i possi~le to treat the ~iber, the filament, yarn~ flat arti~le ~nd/~r materi~ls with a multitude of l~er beam impul~e~, pre~erably between c~c S and ca~ 2~, with A
r~petition rate of ca. 1 to 250 ~z, especially b~tween ! ~a~ 1 to 5 Hz or ca. 200 to c~. 250 Hz~
In addition, the beam~t or beam, g~nerated by the las~r can ~ exp~nded by means of a co~re~p~ndin~
~evice pla~e~ in the beam path, ~o that in ~hi~ way a larger area of the ~u~face is irradiated. ~owever, it i~ prefer~bla to foc~ the beam or ~eams, in or~er tv , _ g_ 131~

treat a corresp~ndingly ~maller surfac~ ~rea with incr~as~d radia~ion power or energy. By variation of the ~iSt~nce between the expansion or ~ocusing device and the irradiated sur~ce, the inventi~n'~ proces~
makes it possible ~o c~ntrol the de~ree of ~urface ~tructurin~ in ~n e~pe~ially ~imple manner.
If th~ invention's process is ~sed for ~ini~hing fibers, fil~ments and~or yarns, it is preferable to irr~diate either ~he ~urface of the fib~rs or ~ilament~ or ~he ~urface o~ the yarn from all ~ides, regardle~s o~ ~he inten~d u~eO I~ the invention's radiation treatmen~ i~ to be used ~o~
synthetic fiber~ or ~ilamen~s, it would be ~dv~ntageous to conduct the tre~tment immediately ~~er primary spinning, slnce at thi~ ~ime the s~rface of the individual fl~e~s or in~ividual filam~nts, as viewed a~ross their ~ircumference. i6 still acce~ible from All sides. Sueh radiation should preferably alw~ys be conducted in such cases where the ~ur~a~e of the individu~l ~iber~ or the individual fil~ment~ have a considera~le ~f~e~t on the properties o~ the ~inishe~
p~oduct~ Ruch as, for exa~ple, yarns, fl~t articles or bulk material~. If, ~or example, ~uch ~ibers ~r filaments ar~ used fox ~he produotion o ~ilters, the lat~er ~ave ~onsidera~ly better ~iltering propertie~
th~n tr~diti~nal filter~ RS a result of the enlar~emen~
of the surface. For the s~me re~on, hollow fiber~
u~ed ln dialysis proces~es whi~h have been irradiated ~s individual fibers have consider~bly h~gh~r exçhange ~oefiçients than non~r~diat~d ~i~ers. In addition, the surface enlargement increase~ fiber-to-~iber and fil~ment~ filament adhe~iv~nes~, which results in the f~c:t th2lt yarns or fleeces produ~ed with ~hes~ f ibers or f ll~ments ll~ve ~onsider~ly gre~ter strength And a better yarn of fleece cohe~ion.
Y~rn shoulcl be irradlat~d espe~ially in ~hos~
cases where it8 ~urface deci~ively affects the ;

~ 3 ~

propertie~ of the finished product. This applie~, fo~
ex~mpie ~ to yarn~ which are flocked or prlnted with pi~ented coloring 6ub~t~nee~, sin~e the floeking material or the pigmented coloring ~u~stan~ Adheres considerably better to th~ yarn as a re~ult oF the surfa~e enlargement or ~tructuring obt~ining by irr~diati~n, For v0ry den~ly adjusted ~lat article~
or ~ulky materi~l~ it can ~lso be recommended not to irradiate these, but instead ~he yarn used in their prod~ction, ~ince the high ma~erial den~ity makes it di~ficul~ to gain acces~ from all ~i~es to the ~urface of the yarn~ u~ed in these ~lat artlcle~ or bulky material~c It is o~ cour6e also po~sible to use the invention's process with ~lat articles or bulk ma~erialx. Generally speaking, ~uch ~reatmen~ is ~uitable in ~uch cases wh~re the propertia~ of the f la~
Artiicle or the bulky materi~l ~epen~ ~eci~ively on irra~iation-accessihle ~ur~aces o~ the fiber~
filamen~s and~or yarn~ which have been worked into the flat ar~icle or the bulky material~ Thu~, for example, the invention'~ p~oce~ can improv~ in flat article~
the slidin~ r~si~tance, the adhesivene~s to coatin~a and p;gmented ~ys~e~s and the absorptive capa~ity~ and thus ~he physiolo~ical proper~e~, to a consider~blo degree, which i~ attribut~d to a corre~ponding ~urf~o~
enlargement or :~tructuring. It i~3 further po~ible/ by using the invention'~ proces~, to change the feel, or fall, of the flat article a~ the result of ths denier redu~ion in ~u~h a way that flat a~ les ~an ~e produced whi~h are corre~pondingly loo~er an~ la~er~lly drooping.
~ s f~r a~ the material of the fiber, the filament, ya~n, flat arti~le or nonwoven materi~l is concerned, it mus~ be g~ner~lly n~ted th~t ba~ically the invention' proce~ c~n be us~d ~o treat ~ny material whose sur~e c~n ~e correspon~in~ly fused, ~ ~10--13~ ~9~6 melted on or re~u~ed~ Preferably synthetic fibers, I ~ilamen~s and/or y~rn~ and/or fl~t articles or nonwoven ~ate~lals containing these ~re irradiated which contain, for example, fiber of polye~tor, poly~mide, polyacrylnitril, polypropylene, polytetra~luortetraeth~lene~ polyure~hane, I poly~arbon~te, acetate, triacetate, aramide. carbon, i ~r~phite ~nd ~lass, The invention's proce~ al~o applicable or na~ural fiber~, su~h ~ eotton ~iberAO
Another versi~n of the invention '~ proce~
provides ~hat Qnly certain sections o~ the ya~n or flat article are irradiated in order to obt~in p~ttern effe~ts in this way. The ~au~e for such pattern efects can be seen in a varyin~ ligh~ refl~ction and/or matting which exists between the radiated and non-radiated section~. Su~h patterned irradiation can be achievçd, either by moving an endle~ web o~ the yarn or the flat arti~le relative to the la~er and covering the la~er ra~iat.ton temporarily in a planned m~nner, or by moving inste~d a la~er beam relative to the ~ur~ace of th~ yarn or ~h~ flat article ln a predeter~ined p~ttern which corresponds to ~he pattern which i~ to ~e created.
The la~t-mentioned proee~ has ~he advan~Age that the surface of the yarn or flat article can be irradiated from all diLection and that, therefore, patterns ~an be created which are primarily orien~ed in , one dire~tion, A~ already ~entioned~ the ! microstru~turin~ ~ause~ a surface enlargemen~ in the irr~di~ted areas, with ~he result that, during sub~equent dyeing, the irradiate~ area~ ha-~e ~ gre~ter dye ab~orp~ion ~ap~city and ar~ thu~ ~lored more . deeply and~or ~i~ferently ~om the colo~ shade.
! There are ~wo possibilities for using ~h a pr~ce~, in which the l~e~ beam i~ mov~d a~ordin~ to a predetermined pat~ern, in t~e~ing endless w~ o~
y~rn~ or fl~t articles. In one ver~ion of ~uch a ~11--~ -12-1 3 ~

proee~s ehe endles~ we~ is moved ~tep-by-~tep over a certaln distan~e, ~nd during the stops of the web the light beam is moved acro~s the re~pective web section accordi~g to the predetermined patte~n~ In the second version, the endle~ we~ o~ the yarn or the flat article is moved relative to the la~er and the light beam i~ moved ~eeordlng to the predetermlned pattern, while the conveying speed of the wa~ and ~he speed of the light ~eam mOvement are synchronize~ . The f ir~t-mentioned ver~ion is particularly suitable for patterns running tran~versely to the ~irection of the we~
movement, ~nd the ~econd version i~ suitable pA~icularly for pa~terns which ~re primari~y oriente~
in the dl~ection o~ the web movement.
In a fu~ther development of the above-de~rihed procq~s, the wave len~th, ener~y and/or power o~ the llght beam genera~ed by the lase~ can be alt~red. This ~ak~s possibl~ the produc~ion of patterns within pattern~, since varylng degrees fusingt melting-on and/or redu~tion of ~he surface o~
the yarn or flAt Arti~le ~re ~au~d depending on ~he w~ve length, enQrgy and/or pow~r of ~he light beam. In ad~ition, a ~undle ~f li~ht beams can be used to produce such in~erio~ patterns, whexe, for example, lndividual light beam~ have differing wave length~.
Llkewis~ a bun~le of li~h~ beam~ can be used advantageou~ly when r~l~tively large-~ur~e pa~erns are to be produced.
In order tP a~hieve ~he ~bov~-de~ri~ed movemen~ of the li~ht beam in a simple manne~, it i~
pr~e~ably to direct a li~ht beam at the y~rn or flat ar~icle ~hich i~ refle~ted from a refl~tion deviee~
3uch a~, for exa~ple, a ~iele~trie mirror, and to mov~
the reflection devi~e according ~o th~ p~edetermined pattern. ~cau~e of the rela~ively low weight o~ ~he r~lection ~evice i t ~an ~e moved rçlatlvely quickly and ~asily, so that even relA~ively complicated, I

. -13-~315~

lnvolv~ patterns can be produ~ed~ It is, of co~rse, also po~sible to dir~ct ~he light beam generated by the las~r directly at the ~elected ~ection of the yarn or the flat article and t~ move the laser according ~o ~he predetermin~d pattern; however, the r~l~tively large wei~ht o ~he la~er neCe~ltates a relatively expanRive mountlng of the latter.
Likewl~, instead o~ a singl~ light beam a bundl~ of light bea~s ~an be u~ed,~which i~ exp~n~d or foc~ed by suit~le ~evice~ lo~ated in the light beam path, ~o tha~ exp~nsion permits the radiation of a ~reater area with relatively le~ power, ~nd focusin~
permits the r~diation of a corr~spondingly smal~er ~rea with inereased power or energy. The de~ree of surface change and the respective irxadiated ~re~ can be ~ontrolled in an e~peci~lly 5imple ~anner by v~ryin~
the di~tance be~ween the expanding or focu~ing device an~ the la~er, so that ~n addi~lonal po~sibili~y for patternin~ within th~ pattern exi~
The a~ove~described process can be applle~ in variou~ ways. For ~xample, if pile fabric i~ cho$en for this proee~s and this pile fa~ri~ i8 irradiate~
from ~he ri~ht ~ide, i.e. the pile ~i~e, with a relatlvely high 1.1ght ~eam energy or power~ pile ~rti~les with e~peeially ~imple p~tterns can be produeed in this manner, ~hieh ha~e ~hortened pile nubs in the irradia~ed 3ections as compared with the non-irr~diated section~. With the present ~tate of technology, this type of pattern~d pile goo~ c~n 4e produccd only at ~reat co~t by special weaving proce~ses or by embossin~, and ~mbossed pile goods o~t~n lose th~ir em~os~ing with advan~ed u~e, e~pe~ially a~er r~peated ~leaning, However, this can nct o~cur with tha inventionis pro~e~s, since the above-described short~ning ~f the pile nu~ is ir~ever~ible as a re~ult o~ their p~rtial re~uction, I ~his type o~ pr~oe i~ applied to~pile ~oods whi~h i 1 3 ~ 6 t~ave ~lready been dyed, one gets a pile article which is patterend sh~ade-in-Sh~de, while ~he varylng light refle~ti~n between the irradiated and the non-irr~dlated 30c~ion3 even helghtens th~ pattern effec~s ~au~ed by ~hortening the pile nubs. On the o~her hand, i the pile goods are irradiated befor~ dyeing, varying dyeability will also ~e~lt, which m~nife~t~ it~elf, for example, in a color difference and/o~ a shift Oe ~olor shade~ The possi~ility also exist3 to produçe an internally pa~tern~d pa~ern by varying ~he wave length, energy or capacity of the ligh~ heam, in that ~he pile nubs within the pattern are reduced to varyin~
de~ree6 ~nd thus have different leng~hs~ If this is not de~ired, it is advi~able during irra~iation to reorient the pile gvods, for example a~ an ed~e, in such a way th~t the light heam, or ~e bundl~ oi light heams, can be directed a~ the nubs Which are to ~e red~ced wi~hout intererence ~rom the adjac~nt nub~
Especially good re~ult~ are obtaine~ if ~he pile good~
~re reoriented ~t an angle between ca. 120~ and c~.
160.
Likewi~e, ~u~h a proce3~ can be u~ed in a particularly si.mple manner to produce burnout articles, for example o polyesker or cot~on yarns . In the area~
o~ the flat ~rticl~ which are dete~mined by the chosen pattern, the polyester sotton of the yarn i~ redueed, so that, as ~he resul~ of the r~moval of the polyester p~rtion, the irradiated areas ha~e, as ~omparod with the non-irradia~ed areas, A ~onsider~bly reduoed mate.~ial den~ity, whi~h stand~ o~ clearly as a pa~tern from ~he remaining areas . ~uch ~urning-out ~an no~ be done with ~he tradi~ional proce~se~, s~n~ ~he cotton portic)n ~s always oxy~a~iv~ly removed.. Fu~thartnore, co~npared with the known process the invention 's pro~ess has the a~vant~geJ ~hat in the ~ase of burn-out articles th~ removal o~ the polye~t~ po~ion does not re~uire any ch~rical~ An~ ~xp~nsiv~ rinsing ~ths, lj ' .

!

1315~$

~ince the polye~ter po~tion is remove~ by the laaer beam '8 energy and the re~ulting deriv~tive product~ can ~a~ily be r~moved from the exh~ust air at rel~tlvely low ~ost, ~r exampl0 by rnean~ of ~ui'cably constructed fil~ers or conden~er~
Likewi~e, the lnYention ~8 p~oce~s can 4e used for flat articles which are uni~a~erally coated,. The~
arer for ex~mple, the traditional coating~ on a synthetie polymer base, such a~, ~or example, polyvinylchlorid~, polyvinylaeet~tes, polyvinylether~, polyurethane~, and ~imll~r type~, o~ on a natur~1 polym~3r ba~e, as for example na~ural rubber~ Fl~t article~ coated in thi~ manne~ have the disadvant~ge, that elothing it~m~ ~nade ~rom them, ~, for ex~mple, shoes, weather protection clothinq et~.~ ha~e very p40 wearing propertie~, since th~ impermeability oF the coatin~ doe~ not permit any vapor exchan~e between the body o~ th~ u~er and the ambient atmosphere. If, on the other hand, a flat a~icle ~oat~d in thi& m~nner i-~irr~d~a~ed on it~ ~oating side by a light r~y gener~ted by a la~er b~am in su~h a way t~at~ in accor~ance with a prede.termined pflttern, the co~ting in the irradi~ted ar~?as i~ redu~ed, pre~erAbly in dot~ hion, thi~ will re~ult in a coated flat article whi~h i~ penetrate~ by I m~cropores, while th~ mic~opor~s oau~e water VApor j permeability, but no water p~rmeability. Furthermore, I use of the invention'~ p~ocess o~r~ the pos~ibility I for providing, in sele~ted areas of the ~lat arti~le, an e&pecially large nu~be~ ~f ~uch micropores, so that these areas c~n ~e used in s~bsequen~ ~lothlng manu~ctura or making clothing ~e~tions such ao armpit ~e~tions, wher~ increas~ water v~por ex~hange i~
~ I deslr~ble be~ e of increa~sd transpiration, Thu~, I the inv~ntion~s proce~ permit~ the produ~tion of i e~pe~ially well ~oated fla~ ar~i~le w~ich ~ viewed I acro~ their sura~e, h~e a graduated wa~er v~por I permeabili~y.

.' ... _ . . .

1 3 ~
Of course, it i~ al~o pos~ible to çonduct a I bil~teral irradiation of flat articles instead o~ the ~nilateral irradiation das~ribed above. ffowever, this is done ~nly in æuch ca~e~ wh~e 40th ~ides of the ~lat ar~icl~ af~ectits properties. Thus, the proce~s of the invention can be u~ed, for example, to treat ~haft-patt~rn~d weave~ in ,such a way that ~he warp thread~
running over ~ longer 6tretch a~ both ~ida~ o~ the flat ~rtiele, which aLe not tied into the ba~i~ waave out~ide the pattern, can be sever~d immediat~ly at ~he edge of the pattern by the ligh~ ~ay generated by the laser. For thib purpo~e it i~ ~uitabl~ ~o chose a light ray whose energ~, power or wave len~th i~ so great that it redu~e~ several w~rp threads ~i~nult~neously acro6~ their pro~ile, and in 60 ~oin~
glues t~e warp threa~s at their lower end to the basic weave, which result~ in espeoially ~irm attachment o~
the warp threads, which ~re tied into the pat~ern over a r~latively ~hort di~tance.
I~ the invention '~ proces~ is u6e~ for the produ~tion of pa~t~rned yarn~, it is pr~ferable to irradiate thc yarns ~rom all si~e~, aR viewed a~ro~
i their profile. This can b~ achieved~ for ex~mple, by irr~dia~ing the surface o~ the y~rn simul~aneously from various directiona with ~everal light Lays~ which are genera~ed by a corresp~ndin~ number of l~ser~, w~ile the li~ht ray~ ~re pre~era~ly refle~te~ at the yarn ; ~ur~ace ~y r~flection devic~ placed concentrically ~ around the yarn and being moved accordin~ to th~ ~
I predetermin~d pattern~
i In order to prevent a chemi~al change in the urface ot th~ irr~diated fi~ert f~la~en~, yarn, flae article and~or nonwoven materiai~, it i8 ~dvisable to ~ur~ound these during irradiati~n with ~ pro~ctive or ine~t ga~ at~o6phere- For thi~ purpo~iei for example, nitrogen or r~re gase6 are use~. LikewiSe, the radiation c~n be undertaken in a vaccum~ i~u~h a me~hod i -1&-I

1 3 ~
I i~ required e~pecially fo~ subs~rat~æ whi~h are easily ¦ oxidlzable at elevated temperatures b~cause of th~ir ¦ ehemical ~truc~ure, as this i~ the ca~e, for example, wi~h polyamides or polypropylene~
I If, vn the other hand, a chemical I modification of ~he fiurface i~ ~ad~ in addi~ion to iti I microstructurlng, it become advisable to repla~e the above-de~ribed protective or inert gas with a reacting ~as wholly or partl~ durin~ laser i~radi~tion. The energy requi~d for the çhemical modification i6 ~upplied by ~he la~e~ beAm or ~eams~
To explain the chemical modification of the surface occurrlng in thi~ type of ver6ion o~ the inv~n~ion'~ process it iB a~i~u~ed th~, d~ring the dotted, linear or areal fusing, melting-on and/or reduction of the irradiated ~iurface, a corresponding splitting o~ polymer macro~olecules located at ~he surfa~e cause~ the ~ormation of reactlve centers.
The~ie reactive centers then rea~t wi~h the reacting ~as pre~ent during the ir~adiatioll. Likewi~e, 1~ is po~sible that the gaqi present during the la~er irradia~ion i~ decompo~efl into a rea~ting ~ondition , ~imult~neously ~ith, o~ exclusively be~ause of, the I laser irradiation, ~or example radlcali2ation or ionizaeion, and that the ~a~ a~tivate~ in this way .reacts with the ~used or melted~on surfa~e of the flber~ ilament, yarn~ }lat arti~le and/or nonwoven materi~l.
This type of pro¢es~ has ~he a~vanta~e that, ¦ a~ the re~iult of the variation~ of the conditions of la~e~ irradiation by changing~ ~or example, the time, the irradi~tod area, ener~y and/or wave lena~h, the I supplied amount of ga6 and ~he chemical comp~sition of i the 9~ atmospheret the resp~ctive obt~ined chemical I and physical ~urf~ce modification ~an be particularly well ~ontro~led. The general rule is ~hat with incre~sin~ energy o~ the la~er radiation ~nd increa~ing ! -17-.. .", .... ,., ._ , .

131 a~

re~cting ~apaciey of ~h~ ga~ or ~a~es ~ed, the de~ree of ~urf~ce modi~ication increa~es. In addition, in the invention 's process, ~he chemical modification of the irradi~ted ~iber~ ment, yarnl flat ar~icle andtor nt>nwov~n occur~ preferably only in a limited xurface ar~a, a~ seen a~ro~s th~ thickness, E;o th~t a los~ o~
I stability or changes of the oth~r thermal-~echanical propertie~ ~uch a~, for ex~mple, the ~tre~-s~xain hehavior, do not take place .
Ba~i~ally any ~as whi~h i~ rea~tive, or can be ~hanged into a reactive ga~ by la~r radiation, c~n be u~ed ~or ~uch a prO~eSS~ Acid or basic gaSb~ are prefera~le, whi~h can be~ ~or example, oxygen compounds with carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, and~or hydrogen compound~ of nitrogen, andfor nitro~en-orçl~nic compounds, such as ami nes . Thus, for example, the use of carbon dioxid~, sulf ur dioxide or sul~ur trioxide during irradiation can produc~ chemically modiEied ~urfaces, where the me~romolecules located at the ~urface have ad~itional acid ~roup~ , on ~he other han~, the macromolecules at the sur~ace are to have addition~l basic groups, one merely ha~ to use sult~ble ga~e~ during irradiation, ~u~h a~ ~mines or ammoniaO
Furthermore, in the ln~ention 's proce~s the ~hemical modif ication of ~he surfa~e can be conduc:ted in such a way that the macromole~ule~ have acid a~ well as basi~
~roups. For this purpos~ one mere1y ha~; to con~uot the laser lrr~diation ~irst ln an acid ga~ ~tmosphere and then in ~ basiç gas atmosphere or vi~e versa.
In ~ further ver~ion c:f 'che 1nv~ntion 's pro~ess an interhalo~en co~pound ~nd/~r a halogen-hydro~n compound can be used in~tead o~ the above-describe~ gases. AS a resul~, correspondingly halog~3ni~ed mac~o~nolecllle~ a~ created in the area of the irr~diate~9 ~urface, whieh ~molecul~ are available as r~active een~ers for ~urther rea~tion~y for i nst~an~e reti culati on or graf ~i n~ r~action.
I

i .

,.......................... --19--~315 If an organic compound is u~ed a~ the reac~in~ gas, which compound has at le~st a double or ~riple bon~, branching molecule~ ~n b~ ~Leated in sel~cte~ areas of the sur~e~ which in ~ddi~ion can still be oligomerized or polygomeri~ed in th~ l~teral ~hain~ d~pending on the re~pective org~nie eo~pound being us~d~
Likewi~e~ nitrogen, ca~bon or oxygen-con~aining ~asa~, ~u~h ~s methyli~ocyan~te, can ~e u~ed as rea~ting g~3e~ in the inv~ntoin' p~oces~. Phos~ene is al~o ~ui~able in order to create reacting centers at the s~rfàce o~ the irradiated ~ub~ances.
I~ the irradiated polym~r ~u~str~e ~ontains ~lock~d reac~ing groups, as, for example~ blocked isocyanat~e, these ~an be change~ ~nto a reactive ~tate by radiation, which result~ in corre~p~nding unilateral or universal s~rface re~iculation~.
In ~h~ lnvention'~ p~oces~ where chemical ~odi~ica~ion of the surf~ce i~ undertaken in addi~on ~o mlcrostructuring, the choise of la~er i~ ~ased on the respective iber ~ubstrate to be treated~ the desired phy~ical and ehemical surface modifi~ation and the r~quired energy, wave length and capacity ~f the laser beam. Basi~ally any la~er~ eRn he used which are capabl~ ~ generatin~3 light rays with a power ~hich is large enough ~o ach.ie~e the desired microfitru~t-lring : ~ .
and the above~ cribed ~ctivation of the ir~adiat~d areas of the ~urface and~or th~ ~a~es ~ e~. The ~ e-des~ribed laser~ are pre~er~bly used for ~hi~
purpose . In ~his ~ype of version of ~he proee~s i~ is, of course, also po~ible to treat the ~urfa~es of the ~1~er, ~ilamen~, yarn, ~ arti~le an~/or nc~nwoven material entirely or in eeIected :areas with a single lAser be~m, a: laser beam impul~e o~ a mllltitude o~
la~er bea~n impulses, if th~ la~te~ h~s~have ~he already mention~d powers an~ ~he abov~-mentioned repetition rate~ The laser beam ~n al~o be ~ocu~ed or expanded, ~ -15-,, .. .. ... _ ~ -20-~3~ ~9~

as thi~ has already been de~cribed abov~. This permit~
a simple control, no~ only of the degree of mic~ostru~turing~ but al~o fo the ~egree ~f chemi~al surface ~odifica~lon.
Furthermore, this invention cvncerns a device ~or executin~ ~he proce~. Here, the ~nvention's device in~ludas a conveyor ~or an endle~s web of fi~ers~ filaments, yarn~ arti~les or nonwoven materials, and a laser, whi~h i8 direçted at the endless web and whi~h generates the radiation. The conveyor trAnsp3r~s the ~ndless web continuously at certain transport speed. By synchronizing the tr~nsport speed, the ~rea i~radiated by the las~r, ~nd the power o~ ~s~er~y of the genrea~ed beams with the respective ~ubstrate to be treated it is possi~le to ~ontrol t~e resultin~ su~Eace chan~e, whi~h mani~ests itxelf in a microstructuring ~nd, a~ the case may be, in a chemi~al modifica~ion.
A further ve~sion of the invention~ device provides ~hat in the beam path between the laser and the endless ~eb either an exp~nsion device or ~
~ocu~in~ ~evi~e i~ placed, by which the ~urfa~e o~ the i~radiated area Gan be enlArged or de~rea-~ed.
In order to c~e~te the posslbility ~or j irradiating the endle~ web ~rom two sides, another I ver~ion of the invention's device haæ a second laser, which rela~ive to the web i8 loca~ed opposite th~ first laser.
ver~ion o~ the invention'~ device which is particul~rly suite~ for ~i~ers, filamen~, or yarn~ i8 equipped with a reflectlon device in~te~d of a ~econd laser, which reflection device ~e~le~ts ~he be~m~
~enerated by the fir~t l~er in such a way th~t~ viewed acro~s their pro~ile, the enti~e aurfac~ of ~he ~ rs, filament~ or y~rn~ is uniformly lrradia~ed~
Preferably, the reflection dev~ce i~ a dielect~ic mi rror.

~ 3 ~

The invention~ proc~s~ can be applied in various ways. ~hus, for ex~mple, it can be u~ed for fibers, filaments, y~rn~, fl~t article~ or nonwoven materials whi~h ~re ~u4~e~u~ntly made into comp~ct ~ateriAls by coating, such ~s ~iber-reinforced pla~tic~ If the laser irradiation i~ condu~ted in the pre~ence of a reactin~ gas, thi~ re~ults, p~rti¢ularly in synthetic ~lber~, Eilament~ or yarn~, not only in a mlcro~tructurin~, but also in ~ chemical modiicatlon of the ~urEace. Such synth~tic fibers, fil~ments or yarn~ are, for example, polye~ter, polyamide, polyacrylnitril, polypropylene, polytetrafl~oetheylenR, polyurethane, polycar~onate, acst~te, triacetate.
aramide, ~rbon, ~raphite ~nd gla~ ibers. Thi~
causeæ a marked improvement o~ ~he adhesion between the coatin~ and the fiber~, filament~, yarn~, ~lat ~rticles or nonwoven m~terials worked into it. T~e g~s~ or ga~es, used durlng the irr~dia~ion i~are adapte~ to the chemical composition of the coatin~ in ~uch a way th~t such reactive groups are created in the su~face area o~ the irradi~ted ~ubstrate by chemicAl modifi~ation, or ~ra~ting~ whi~h react with ~he coatin~ or generAlly, wlth the matrix, ~y creating a phy~ical and/or chemical bond. Th~ ~a~e ~pplles to the treatment of the ~urfa~e~ of textile polymer~, which are used in me~al-coated textiles, laminates, and met~llized yarnç or filaments which are utilized, ~or example, as protective clothing ~or radar ray~, or for ~13an-ro~ms ln thc pharmaceuti~al ~r ele~trical industry. In addi~ion~ th~ microstructurin0, Rlone or together with the ~hemical m~dification, ~auso~ in fiber-rein~orced concrete an improvemen~ of the bon~
bctwe~n th~ co~crete and the f~her~, ~he fl~t ar~icle or nonwoven material worke~ in~o i~. Likewise, a fla~
ar~icle or nonwoven ma~rlal trea~ed wi~h invention's process can be ~sed as the prim~ry layer or compact m~t~rial, such a~ brake diskq or tir~ cord~

-Zl--~2-~ 3 ~

~ he ~l~ers, filaments, y~rns, ~lat artlcle~
~ or nonwoven material~ treated with the inventlon's ¦ process ~lso have appli~ation in the medical fleld.
They can be u8ed, for ~xample, for the production ~f surgi~al ~ewing material or pro~hetic arti~les, as, j or ex~mple, artiflcial vein~ which, au compared with non-radi~ed, superficially not micros~ructured and/or chemically modiied substrat~, hav~ a considerably greater resorptive capaçity~
Likewise, microstrueture~ hollow ib~r~ used in dialysi~ have, a~ compared with non-irradiated hollow fibers, ~onsiderably highe~ axchange ~oefi~ient~, which can be fur~her improved by additional che~ical modificaeion o~ the ~urface. ~he same applies to filter~ whiçh were made with irradiated fi~ers, ~ilament~, yarn3, fla~ articles or nonwoven material~. A6 compared with conventional filters ~hey have con~lderably improved filtr~tion propertie6, whioh i~ manife~ed, ~or example, by grea~er separatin~
capacity, longer ~ervice life e~c. Such Eil~çrs are exoellent for wet filtra~ion, a~, for example, sterile ~ilterin~ of bev~rages such a~ beer, wine et¢~, a~ well I a~ for dry filtr~tion, especially for the ~eparation of I ~ine du~t in cleanroom~ or gas masksO
I Advantayeous ~uth~r develop~en~s of the ¦ invention'~ fibers, fila~ent~, yarn~ 1at Ar~içles o~
nonwoven material~, a3 ~ell as of the inventlon's proe~s and ~he invention'~ device for implementin~ ~he proce~s ~re s~at~d in the subcl~ims.
In th~ following, the inven~ion i~ ~xplained in ~xeater d~tail with th~ h~lp of drawin~ ~nd ~he use o~ form~ o~ e~bodimentO Shown are:
~ ig. 1 an ~lectron-mi~roscope ~ree~ ph~to of an are~ o~ irradiat~d polyester ~abric, enlarg~d ~00 time~J
Fig. 2 an ~lectron-micro~cope ~creen pho~o o an ~e~ of ~ polye~ter multi-filam~nt yarn, enlarged 2,800 times;

1 .
-aa_ 13~5~

Fig. 3 a gr~phic pre~entation o~ the tance o~ the depresSiOns, or elevation~, respe~tively, as a function of the ener~y density oÇ
the laser beams;
Fi~. 4 a ~irst form or em~odiment of a device ~or th~ irradi~tlon of ~la~ article~; ~nd F~9~ 5 a ~ur~her ~orm o~ embo~iment of the devi~e for the irradiation o~ yarns D
Figure 1 ~hows an electron-micro3cope ~crsen photo oi~ an irradiated poly~s'cer fabric in ~0 x enlargement, A 3ection o~ the ~abric wa~ irradi~t~d wlth a RrF Excim~r laser at a wave ~ength o~ ~48 nm; 10 bea~ impulses with a repetition rate of 5 HZ and an ener~y of 200 ~n~J/cm2 per pulse were emitted by the laser. The tran~v~rse wefts as well a~ the longitudinal warps, which e.re ~iber yarnst hav~ a micro~tr~c~ure con~i~ting of linear, wavy depres~ion~
~' an~ ~orr~fiponding elevations ~', which are predominantly l~ted ~rana~er~ely to the lon~itudinal ~xis of the ~iber. The depres~ions 3' or the elovation$ 4' have a depth or height between ca. 0.6 and c~ 0.~ micrometer, and the di~tance betw~en ad~acent depres~ions 3a~ and 3h' i8 ~etween ca. ~
micromster~ an~ ca. ~ mi~rometers, Their width is ca.
OD4 micrvmeter and ca. 0,6 microme~Rr, re~pec~ively.
In addition, Fig. 1 ~hows non-irradiated are~s 5' in the weft material 1 ', which o~curred bec:ause the warp materiAl 2l cove~ed theae are~s 5 ' .
The Inicro~tructure ~h4wn in ~ , 2, which i~
an area of the surfa~e o~ an irradia~ed poly~ster multi~i~am~nt yarn ~hich was treated un~er khe above-de~ribed con~itions, ha~, in addi~cion to the above-des~ribed linear depression~ and elev~ions, areal ~epres~ions 6 ' and areal elevations 7 ~t These hav~ an area of ca . 2 to ~ micrometers~ and a depth or heat of ~a,, ~-~ micromet~rs. Their dist~ibution i~ compl~tely irregular ~ro~ ~he sur~ace of the ~iber. ~n 1.

!

~ 3 ~

addition, dotted depressions 8' are pre~ent, which have an area o~ ca. 1 microm~t0r2 with a depth of 1 mi~rometer to 2 ~icrometer~. The~e, too, are distributed irregularly ~ro8~ the ~face of the multifilament yarn.
Flg, 3 &how~ th~ distance of adjacent linear depres~ions a~ a fun~tion o~ the logarithm of the energy d~nsity per pulse. ~i~fer~nt fibers, or fabrice~ were tre~ted with varyin~ w~ve lengths o~ th~
la~r beam. In gen~ral it mu~t be noted here that ~he actu~l f~rm vf the micro~truc~uring i8 d~termined by the irst beam impulse, while t~e s~bsequent beam impulses es~en~i~lly increa~e the depth o~ ~h~
depres~ions and the height ~ ~he ele~ation~ and change the dis~ance only minimally~ In thR ~iagram shbwn in Fi~ 3 only one beam impul~e, re~peetively, was fire~
dt th~ sample, with v~riation6 of the ener~y~ Th~
~tri~ht line~ 1 and 3 ~pply t~ a polyester fiber with ~rilo~al ~ro~ ection, th~ rAight line 2 to a polye~t~r ~ieve ne~ting, and the s~raight lines 4 and 5 to two polyester ~ieve nettings. The st~aight lines 1, 1 2 and 5 were ohtained by irradiating the sample~ with I an ArF-Excimer laser at 193 nm, And the ~tright lin~s 3 and 4 we~e o~t~ined by irradi~tin~ the samples wi~h a K~F-Excimer laser at 24~ nm, whil~ the energy den~ity o the beam impulse~ was varied in the ~re~ noted.
~ Pig. 4 fihows a device which ~n i~ entirety I i~ d~signed as 10, which i~ u~ed ~or finishin~ flat artiçle or nonwoven m~terials~ Thi~ ~evice h~ a conveyo~, which consist~ o~ two roller 4a ~nd 4~, an endl~s conveyor belt 3 running 4e~we~n the e rollers, and ~ drow-o~f ~eviçe (not ~hown~. ~he conveyor continuously tran~port~ an ~ndles~ web 2 o a fl~t I arti~le or nonwoven ~aterial in ~he dire ~ion o~ thq j arrow 13 ~t a contlnuous speed. Abvve the endle~s web ser 1 i~ lo~ated, whl~h ~nerates radiation. The beams gen~rated by the la~e~ 1 are dir~te~ at the web .

i ~ 5 ~ 3 ~

2 by ~eans of schematically shown expan~ion deYl~e 5 loeated in the b2am path, so ~hat they irradiate an ar~a 6 wi~h uniform intensity. Of co~r~e, it is ~l~o pos~ible to u~e a series of lasers pl~csd side by sid~
instead of the one laser 1, and to u~ one or more ocusin~ device~ inst~ad of the exp~n~ion device 5~
wh~ch fo~in~ devices d1re~t the beams g~nerated by the la~ers ~t the web in sueh ~ way that ~he ~rea 6 is divi~ed in~o a numbe~r of individual 2;~tions loc~ted ~ide by sidel. In ~onnection with a covering ~vise these individual sections ~an then be ~;ele~tively ~overed, with th~ re~ult ~hat, view~3d a~oss it~ width, and when moving in ~he direction of the ~rrow 13, the web i~ partially irr2~diated, or not irra~i~ted, along it6 l~ngitudinal dimen~ion, so that a patterned sur~ace change iB obtalne~.
A further form of embodiment 6hown in Fig. 5 o~ a device ~signe~ in it~ en~irety a~ 20 iB used ~or ~inishing an endle~ we~ o~ yarn ~ which, in the ~orm o embodiment ~hown in Fig ~ 5, Consi~tB o~ a ban~ o~
~ive individual yarns~ which are ~hown only in an exempli~ied mann~r~ The nu~ber of in~ividual yarn~
depend~ on the area which the laser ¢an irradiate. The dye of the yarns is tr~n~ported by a ~onveyor in the direction of the arrow 13 at a certain ~pe~d, which iB
ad~pt~d to the d~sired ~urf~e change ~nd to th~ power o~ the laser irr~diation; ~heconveyor includes a dr~w-off device lnot ~hown) and ~o roll~r~ 4a and 4b.
Above and b~low ~he yarn wçb 9 one ea~h la~er 7, or 8, respectively, is lo~a~ed, the beams ~ which ~e directed by ~eans o~ an expan~ion device (not 3hown~ ~t the web in su~h a way that the upp~r la~er 7 irr~diates an upper y~rn Area 11, and the lower lase~ ~ irradiate~
lower y~rn area 12r wh~ch i shown by ~ dot~e~
line~ Thi~ typ~ of arrangement A~ureS that, a viewed across the circumf~en~e of the y~rn, a uniform irr~diation of the ~urface an~ thu~ a uniform ~urf~ce _~5_ -2~-~ 3 ~hange ~ake6 place. In order to prevent a sagging of th~ yarns and therefor~ a ehange ln their distAnce to the upper la~er 7 or th~ lower las~r B, the sectlon b~tween the ~wo roller~ 4a and 4~ o ~he ver~ion ~hown in Fig. S is ~onsiderably ~hortsr as compared with the device shown in ~ig. 1 ~lnce, as ~he re~ult of the above-describe~ placement of the lasers, the y~rn irradia~ion deviee preclud~ the u~e o~ a conveyor b~lt to support the we~.
~ he ollvwing @xamples hav~ the p~rpo~e o~
clarlfyin~ the advanta~e~ which ar~ attainable with ~he in~ention'~ proces~.
~ .
With the use o~ laboratory e~uipmen~ a polye~ter fa~rio wit~ a wei~ht of 8U g~m~ and a warp density o 25 threAds/~m and a we~t den~ity ~f 35 threads/cm was trea~ed with laser irradia~ion. The l~r u~ed wa~ a Kr~-EXCimer laser with a wav~ length o~
248 n~, and an area of 2 c~2 was irra~iated with one impulse as well a~ with ~en impulsRs, The energy o~
one beam impul~e was 400 mJ. In the ~amples thus irradia~ed, water abfiorption wa~ mea~ured ~ravime~rically a~te~ 48 hour~ of st.ora~e in standard climatQ at ~0C and ~5% r~lative humi~ity~ The follo~in~ result~ were octained:

Untreated æ~mpl~: Water ab6~rption 0.5 Tre~ted sample, 1 ~eam i~pulse: Water ab~orption 4~
Treated s~mple, 10 bsam impul~e~; ~ate~ absorRtiun 7%.

~ polye~ter fabric wi~h a wei~ht o 100 g/m2, a warp ~en~tiy of 40 ~hrea~cm an~ a weft ~n~i~y of S0 threa~s/cm was irradia~ed ~ des~ri~d in example 1;
for this te~t, an Ar~-Exci~eL la~er with a wave len~h of 193 ~m wa~ used. The ene~gy of ~he be~m impulse wag 200 mJ. The followlng water ab~orp~ion val~e~ w~re ~bt~ined:

-2~-1 3 ~ &

Untrea~ed sample: Water ab~orptlon 0.4~.
Tr~ted siample~ one impul~e: Water ~b~orption 2.3%
~reateid ~ample, 10 he~m impulses: Water a~orption 4.9 With respect ~o he two preceding exa~ple~ it should b~
mentioned that in both case~ the ~amp}e wa~ treatad from one ~ide only with one or ~en non-focused beams Of the abric mentioned in example 1, one eaeh o a section of ~ non-treated ~ample, of a ~ample treated ~ith one beam imp~lse and o~ a ~am~le treated with ten beam impulses was print~d ~ith pigment. The printing paste contained ~ 9 bondin~ agent (200 AGramin VL~, ~0 ~ Acracone 0, 50 g Acrafix M) 20 g pi~ment ~Acramln Ma~ine Blue FBC), 3 g triethanolamine and 6~7 g WAter. After ~pplication o~ the printing paste~ drying for one minute at 120C~ and condensing at 170 for ~hree minut~s, the adhe3ion of the prinS to the ~abri~ was te~ted wi~h ~ ~rockmeter.
Staining of acaom~anyin~ cotton fabric as per grey ~cale ~f te r 50 friction 100 friction ~50 fri~tion cycle~ ~ycles cycle~

untreated sampla 2 - 3 irr~dia~e~i sample, 1 beam impul~e ~ - 4 3 2 -irr~diated ~ample~
10 beam impulse6 4 4 3 - 4 As ~n ~e seen in ~he above ~ahlef the adhesion of the pig~nt prlnt i~ ~on~id~rably worie in the un~eated ~ample than in the irr~d~ated s~mple~, as evl~enced by the reæpe~tive g~ades, p~rticularly a~er 100 vr 25Q
friction cyclo~.
I

-~7-I

~ 3 ~

As proven by ~ample 1, the u e of the inv~ntion's proces~ con~iderably improve~ water ahsorption, p~rticul~rly in ~ynth~tlc ~ihers, so that the clothing whi~h is made with these ha~ ~xcellent physiological proper~1es~ This i~ manifested on the one hand ~y improved moi~tur~ or water absorption, and on the other hand b~ increased w~t~r exchange, ~o that clothing o this type has the ~dvantages ~ n~tural ~iber~ with respect to wearing co~fort, ~s wlel as the A~V~ntageS of synthetiG ~ibers with respect to simple care. Furthermore, irradiation according to the invention of fibers, filaments, yarns, flat articles or non~oven material of synthe~ic fib~rs, or eontaining these yarns, has the res~llt that very unpleasan~c elect~ostati~ charging occurs not at all or in a very limited way, which i~ ascribed to ~he above-de~cribed increased w~ter ab~orptionl Thu~, the us~ of the invention 's process can achieve in a very simple manner a perm~nent antistatie ~ini~hin~ of f ibers etc., which i~ extremely interestin~, not only for ~lothing, but also fo~ carpe~ ~looræ or dust ~ilte~s, In addition, the use ~ the inven~ion's proc~ss w1th fibe~ ~ondin~ sub~tances can con~ider~bly increabe the adhe~iion ~e~we~ he matrix into which the ~ibers are bedded and the fibers ~hem~elves, with the re~ult that such ~iber bonding ~ubstance~ h~ve con~iderably improved strength and decreased w~ar tendencies, and consequently longer Service li ~e. The fib~rs are pr~ferably irradiated immedi~tely after ~pinning, ~uch at tha~: time ~ as viewed acrQ~ it~
~ircunlferençe, the fiber is still aeces~ible from all sides and op~im~l ~ur~ace rou~hening can be obtained, which is ~e~n as the ~ause of ~he in~prov~ment of adhe~iion between the matrix and ~he ibers. Generally speaking~ such a process shollld be ~u~ed pArticularly ith su¢h i~ ibers which have a smoc~th, non-prof iled ~ur~ace, which ~pplies, for example, ~o PTFE or ~ramid ~iber~ or f ibex mixtures .

--~8 1 3 ~

Polyester woven goods with a wei~ht 99 gJm2 and a warp den~ity of 375 thre~ds/dm ~nd a we~t density of 340 threads/dm wa~ rin~ed wiSh the conv~ntional proce~se~ ~nd ~ub-cequen~ly fix~d at 190~. The warp ~hreads ha~ 76 individual filaments and a denier of 105 dt~x, and the weft thraad~ al50 h~d 76 individual filaments, and ~ d~nier of 15~ dtex.
An area of the above~mentioned poly~ter fabric wa~ irradiated with two li~ht beam impul~e~
gen~ra~ed ~y an ArF-Excimer las~r the energy o ~h~
ligh~ beam impulses wa~ 57 mJ/om2 and the w~ve len~th wa~ 193 ~m. ~ter both bea~ impulses h~d been dire~ted at the ~urface of ~e ~rea of the polyester fabric, the light bea~ was moved a~cording to a prede~ermined geometric patt~rn in ~uch a w~y that a seGtiOn adjacent to this area wa5 ~160 treated with two light bea~
impul~e~
Su~s~quently the polye~ter f~bric irradiated in thi~ m~nner wa~ dyed in a laborato~y dyeing ~acility wl~h a bath ratlo of 1:15; the dye~n~ bath h~d the following oompo~ition:

1~ G.I. Di~perse Blue 7~, ~OD par çen~
005 g~l of a deflooçulation a~ent on ~he bagis of a cond6n~tion produçt of aromatic ~ulfonic ~cids 0~25 ml~l a~e~ic aci~
The ~oloring ~ub~tances were premixed in the conventional m~nner and th~ dyeing wa~ begun at a ~tartlng ~e~perature of 60~C. Sub~quently the dy~ing b~th ~a~ heated at 1 C/min to 130~C. After a dw~1l peri~d of 30 minu~es at the above temperature tha bath w~s coole~ at 1 C/min to 80~. There fol}owed an alkaline reduçtive purifi~ation with ~;odlum hydrosulide in the conventiona~ concentration~
After dy~ing and drying the 6ample wa~ At ~i~OEt visually evalu~ted. It w~ apparen~ that tha -2~

' -39-~315~

pA~terned areas had been dyed in ~ con~iderably darker ~h~de ~ The geomet~ic p~ttern cr0~t~d b~ the rnovement of the ligh~ beam w~s clearly vi~ible and had a ~harp outline~
Section~ were taken from the lrradiated and non-ir~adiated areas of the ~olyester fabric, ~nd their dye concen~ration wa-q de~ermined quantltatively after di~solving ~he flber 3ubstrate. It wa~ noted that t~e irr~ia~ed sample shoed 8~ mo~e dye absorptlon than the non- i rradi at*d s ampl e .
with respect to rubbin~-resistance, sweat resistan~e, ~le~hing ~e~i~tance and dry he~t ~le~chin~
resi~tance, thre were no diffe~neces ~etwe3n th~
irradiated and non-irradiated area~.
~ .
The above-de~cribed polyes~er ~abric was irradiated in a manner ~naloyou~; to example ~, howev~r, 10 light beam lmpulses with an energy o~ 85.2 mJ~cm~
were dire~ted at the ~elected area o~ the sur~ace.
Sub~equen~ly, thçlight beam wa~ moved ac~ording to t.he predeter~ined pattern to an ad~a~ent ~re~ and the 10 light beAm& were again emitted/
The sample of the polyester fabri~ treated in this manne~ wa~ dyed and retreated as de~ribed above.
A~r ~yeing and d~yin~ the ~ple wa~
visually evaluated~ It was n~ted that the i~radiated areas ~ere con~idera~ly still more deeply o~ darkly dyed, ~o that the ~eometri~ pattern ~howed ~p even more ~learly~ The s~b~equ~nt ~olori~etri~ eval~ation show~d tha~ ~he ~rradiated areas were dy~d 35~ mora dar~ly ~h~n the non-irradi~ted areas. The sh~rpne~ o~ the outline of thi5 sample wa~ excellent. It was noted there, too, ~hat ther~ were no differences in the color-fa~ne~.
E_~moe~
A pile 100r carpet wi~h a polyami~e nub layer of 500 g/m~ w~s reorien~ed by 140 ove~ ona I

.

1 3 1 ~
edg~. The pol~ nubs which were freely ~ccessible to the li~ht beam at the edge were irradiated in 6elected area~ in ~uch a way that the light beam w~s I concentrA~ed on about th8 upper third of the pole nub I and w~s m~ved according to ~ randomly 3elected i pattern~ SimultansoU31y~ the pil~ ~loor c~rpet wa.s transported relative to th~ la~er generatin~ the light beam; the ~peed of the 1aser movem~nt was 10 ~m/~in and ~he tran~por~ ~peed o~ the pile ~loor c~rpet w~ 5 ~m/min. An ArF-Excimer laser was used, and 100 bea~
impul~e~ were emitted At each irradiated æ~tion of ~he patt~rns~ area~ The energy o th~ beam impul es wag 100 mJ/cm2~
By ~edu~tion o~ ~he upper thi~d of the irr~diated pole nub~ ~ three~dimen~ionally patterned pil~ 100r carpet was created, and the patte~n p~oduced ! in thi~ ~ann~ wa~ still clearly vi~ible af~e~
intensive me~hanic~l stre~
~ .
I A polye~ter fabric irradiated as in ex~mple S
I was dyed ~fter irradiation w~th the following oombination of coloring sub~tan~e~-0 . 7 % C . I . Di spe r~ e B lue S6 O .7% C .I . Di~per~e ~ed 0.7P~ C.I. Di~per~e Xellow ~0 The dye~ng and the redu~tive p~ ication wascondu~ted according to ex~mple 4.
After dyeing and dryiny the s~mple wa~
vi~ually evalua~ed. It wa~ not~d that the dye ab~orptlon w~clearly hi~her in the patterned ~rea~
produced ~y irradiation th~n in the nbn-irradi~t~d areaR5 the dlf~erence in color sh~e wa6 ~stim~ted ~t ca . 30 to ca . 40% . In ~d~ition there wa~ a colox ~hade - -differenee between irradia'ced and r~on ~rraida~ce area~. THu~i, the non~ irr~ivted ar~a of th~ polye~r fab~ic~ dyed in ~n olive-green hrown~ while the lrr~di~ed ~reas ~how~ a shift in c~lor ~hade to considerably ~Illler, reddish-blue brown.

, I .

131a9~6 In additlon to the ahove-de~cribed dyeing another dyeing-process ~a~ implem~nted with ~he ~am~
combination o~ coloring ~ubstances, in whiGh the dye bath ~ontained ~n additional 0.2S 9/l of a levellign agent on the bagi~ of a pr~paration o~ alkyphanol and fatty-aeid polyglycolether~.
Th~ comparifion of the dyeing~ wi~h and without the leve11ing agent ~howed that, in the dyeing witho~t the 1~vellin~ agent, the differ~n~e betw~en the irradi~ted and non-irradiated area~ was con~idera~ly greater. A de~erio~ation of th@ above~mentioned resi~tance~ in the irradiated area~ could not be de~ected. Comparative ~en~i1e strength measurement~
~howed ~hat no difference whatsoever existed between the irradiate~ and the non~irradiated a~s~
Example 8 In a l~bora~ory faeility a polye~ter fabrie with a weight o 80 ~m2 and a warp ~ensity of 25 i thread~/om and a weft density of 32 thre~dsfcm was I treated with laser irradiation. The laser used wa~ A
I KrF-Excimer lser with ~ wav~ lellgth of ~48 nm; an area i o~ 2 cm~ WAS irradiated with one impulse a~ we.ll as w1th 10 i~puls~. The ~neryy of a ~eam lmpulse wa~ 400 I ~J. The irradiation was ~onducted in a C0~ and a $0 ¦ ~as a~mo~phere.
The wa~r a~sorption ~f th~ sample~ tre~ed in thi~ manner was ~eas~red gra~imetrically after 40 hour~ of ~torage in standard clim~e at 20~C and 65 relative humidity. Th~ following resul~ w~re obtaineds un~reat~d -~amp1e, water a~orption: 4.S~
~reated ~ample, 1 beam impulse, ~2 atmo&phe~, wa~r ~orption: 6%
treated ~ample, 10 beam imp~l~es, C02 atmo~ph~re, w~ter : absorption:

~ 3 ~
treated ~ample, 1 beam impul~e, S02 atmosphere, water ab~orption: 8$
tr~ted ~ample, 10 be~m impul~e~, SO~ atmosphQre, water absorpt~on; 10~.
A dye test accordin~a to ~elliand~Tex~ilber, 60 ~1979, 272~ wa~ u~ed ~ proof of the acid groups wh~h w~re formed on certain areas o~ the ~urfa~e during irradiatlon in the acid g~ atmosphere.
In ~he dye test the nonir~adiated ~ample did no~ aecep~ ~he dye, while all irradiated -~amples a~ep~ed the dye with in~reasin~ intensi~y in the sequenee CO~ ~tmosphere, 1 beam lmpul~ C02 atmo~phere, 10 beam impulse~; S02 atmosphere. 1 b~am impulse; SO~ ~tmo6phere, 10 beam impulses; the dyeing wa~ dotted and linear. This permits the conclusion I that acid ~ro~ps o~urred ~t ~h~ surace of the fabric i as ~he ~esult of the irradiation~ which ~ci~ groups can ~ be a~ribed to a ~plit~ing of the surface molecule~ ~nd ! to reaction with tlle acid gas~
. Furthermore, the aurface resi~tance o~ all I ~amples ~g ~ea~u~ed with thR annular electrode metho~. The sample~ ha~ been previously ~ufficiently ~onditione~ in ~tandard climate (23 C, 65~ relative j humi~ity), The following v~lueq were obtained:
untr~ated sample 1013 Ohm;
~2 atmvsphere, 1 beam impul~e, 1 ol Ohm:
CO~ atmosphere, 10 beam impul3es, 10~ Ohm;
S2 atmo~phere, 1 beam impul~e 108 Ohm;
SO~ ~tmo~phere, 10 ~ea~ impul e~ 107 Ohm~
As the above value~ pr~ve, ~he f~bric which wa~ ~emi~ally ar.~ phy~ically modi~ied in i~ 6urface ha~ clearly improved surface re~istAn¢es, which i~
a~crib~d to the p~e~ence of polar group~ Thu~, the xample~ which we~e ir~adi~ted in a rea~ting ~
stmo~phere were per~anently anti~ta~ic without the appli~a~ion of ~ corre~ponding fini~h.
A~ ~ 9 ~33---3~--1 3 ~
The polyester fahric de~cribed in ex~mple 8 w~8 irradiated in a labo~atory ~acility. An ArF-Excimer laser wi~h A wave length of 193 nm wa~ used~
The irradl~tion w~ conducted in ~ NH3 atmo~phe~ ~
Each ~ample was treat~d with or~e impul~e an~ with 10 impulses; the energy c:~f a beam impul~e was 200 mJ .
Subsequently, one untreated ~ample nd the two irradiated samples were given a ~wo-component polyurethane l:oating at 80 g/m~. After drying and conden~akion the bending-~tre~$ dur~bility was m~a$~ured tBalli-Flexometer), whieh led to the ~ollowing resul~cs:
untr*ated 1 beam 10 b~am sample impul~e impulse 1, at 20C dry 150~000 200,000 250,000 flexure~, f~exures, flexures, slight slight no finding 1005enin~ loo~ening o~ coatin~ of th~ coatin~
i n the f lex i n the f lex ar~a are~
2. ~t 20C wet 130,000 180,000 ~S0,000 flexures, flexures, flexures, d~mage a~ no f inding no f in~in~
in 1 ¦ As ~hese re~ul~s ~how, irradia~ion trsatmen~
in the amm~nia ~tmosphere clearly improves ending stress dura~ility. This i5 ~ ibed to the ~t that, in addition ~o the microstructu~in~, basie groups occur j ~t the surf a~e o~ the fabric, which rea~t with the acid ! group~ that are p~esent in the polyurethane coatin~ and thus lmprove ~he a~he~ion o~ the polyure~hane c~a~ing on the ~arrier fabric~

--~4 i ... . .. __ . _

Claims

1. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile, material containing these, wherein these substrates have on their surface a microstructure made by the use of a laser, characterized in that the microstructure has primarily the shape of linear depressions and/or elevations extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fiber or of the filament, said linear depressions and/or elevations having a width up to about 1 µm and a depth or height up to about 10 µm and a spacing of between about 1 µm and about 5 µm and extending over about 10 % up to about 100 % of the surface of the fiber and/or of the filament.

2. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile material containing these according to claim 1, characterized in that the depressions or elevations have a depth or height of between about 0,1 µm and about 4 µm, preferably 0,5 µm and 1 µm.

3. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile material containing these according to claim 1, characterized in that the linear depressions and/or elevations have a width up to about 0,5 µm and a spacing of between about 1 µm and about 3 µm.

4. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile material containing these according to claim 1, characterized in that the fiber or the filament contains reactive groups in the area of its surface.

5. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile material containing these according to claim 4, characterized in that the area constitutes that section of the fiber of filament surface which has the microstructure.

6. Fiber, filament, yarn and/or flat article and/or pile material containing these according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the depressions and/or elevations extend over about 20 % to about 80 %, preferably over about 40 % to about 60 %, of the surface of the fiber and/or of the filament.

7. A process for the manufacture of microstructured fibers, filaments, yarns and/or flat articles and/or pile material containing these according to claim 1, according to which these substrates are irradiated with a laser, characterized in that the substrates are irradiated with a pulsed gas laser resulting in the formation of the linear depressions and/or elevations primarily extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fibers or the filaments.

8. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that one uses a pulsed gas laser that generates a radiation of between about 5 nm and about 1200 nm.

9. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that the radiation is generated by an excimer laser.

10. The process according to claim 9, characterized in that one uses a KrF laser or ArF laser with a wave length of the laser radiation of 248 nm or 193 nm.

11. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that one uses a gas laser the pulses of which having a repetition rate of between about 200 Hz and about 250 Hz or of between about 1 Hz and about 5 Hz.

12. The process according to claim 11, characterized in that one selects a pulse duration of between about 10-15 sec and about 10-3 sec.

13. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that the radiation treatment is carried out in a protection gas atmosphere.

14. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that the surface of the fibers, the filaments and/or the yarn is irradiated from all sides.

15. The process according to claim 7, characterized by conducting the radiation treatment from the upper and lower side with flat articles and pile materials.

16. The process according to claim 15, characterized by irradiating a web of the flat article or the pile material which is continuously moved in longitudinal direction such that a linear and pulsed laser bean is directed at the web transversely to the direction of its movement.

17. The process according to claim 16, according to which a coating is applied to the flat article, characterized in that the radiation treatment is conducted before the coating is applied.

18. The process according to claim 17, according to which the flat article is dyed and/or printed with pigmented coloring substances, characterized in that the radiation treatment is conducted before the dyeing or printing.

19. the process according to claim 16 for finishing of pile material used for filtration purposes, characterized in that the radiation treatment is conducted during the manufacture of the pile material.

20. A process for the manufacture of patterned yarns or flat textile articles according to claim 7, characterized in that the pulsed laser beam generated by a laser is moved according to a predetermined pattern relative to the surface of the yarn or flat article.

21. The process according to claim 20, characterized in that the wave length, energy and/or capacity of the pulsed laser beam is changed during the movement thereof.

22. The process according to claim 20, characterized in that a bundle of pulsed laser beams is used as pulsed laser beam.

23. The process according to claim 22, characterized in that at least certain laser beams of the bundle have a different wave length.

24. The process according to claim 20, 21, 22 or 23, characterized in that the laser beam is reflected at a reflection means and the reflected laser beam is directed to the surface of the yarn or flat article and the reflection means is moved according to the predetermined pattern.

25. A process for the manufacture of the fiber, filament, yarn, flat article and/or pile material which is chemically modified in an area of its surface, according to claim 7, characterized in that it is irradiated in a gas atmosphere containing at least one reactive gas.

26. The process according to claim 25, characterized by using an acid or basic gas as reactive gas.

27. The process according to claim 25, characterized by using oxygen compounds of carbon, nitrogen and/or sulfur as reactive gas.

28. The process according to any one of the claims 25, 26 and 27, characterized by using an interhalogen compound and/or a halogen hydrogen compound as reactive gas.

29. The process according to any one of the claims 25, 26 and 27, characterized by using an organic compound having at least one double or triple bond as reactive gas.

30. The process according to any one of the claims 25, 26 and 27, characterized by mixing the reactive gas with an inert gas.

31. The process according to claim 7, characterized by irradiating a thermoplastic fiber.

32. An apparatus for carrying out the process according to claim 7 comprising a laser generating the radiation and directing the same to the surface of the substrate, characterized in that said apparatus contains a conveyor (4 a, 4 b) which transports an endless web (9) of fibers, filaments, yarns, flat articles and/or pile materials at a certain speed, in that the laser is a pulsed gas laser (7), and in that another pulsed gas laser (8) is provided, the two gas lasers (7, 8) being located on opposite sides relative to the web (9).

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, characterized in that an expansion device for the radiation is located in the path of beams between the lasers (7, 8) and the endless web (9).

34. The apparatus according to claim 32 for finishing fibers, filament or yarns, characterized in that it comprises a reflection means for the radiation instead of the second laser (8) which is located opposite to the gas lasers (7, 8) relative to the web (9).

35. The apparatus according to claim 34, characterized is that the reflection means is a dielectric mirror.

36. Use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to one of the claims 1 to 6 for the manufacture of fiber-reenforced plastics.

37. The use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of laminates.

38. The use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of coated textiles.

39. The use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of metal-clad textiles, especially nickel-coated fibers for radar protection clothing or metalized filaments for clean-room protective clothing.

40. The use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims

41 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of fiber-reenforced concrete.

41. The use of the fiber, yarn, filament, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of prosthetic articles, especially artificial veins.

42. The use of the fiber, the filament and/or the yarn according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of surgical sewing material.

43. The use of the fiber, the filament, yarn, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1/ 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of filters, especially for wet and dry filtration processes, osmotic processes as well as dialysis processes.

44. The use of the fiber, the filament, yarn, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of tire cord.

45. The use of the fiber, the filament, yarn, flat article and/or pile material according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, for the manufacture of microporously coated textiles.