Abstract
A new technology for producing color patterns on stainless steel has been developed by utilizing YAG pulse laser irradiation. This technology is based on a new finding that an enrichment of chromium occurs in the surface layer of stainless steel immersed in an electrolyte solution when laser beams irradiate the surface through the solution. By combination of the change in surface composition due to laser irradiation and a subsequent coloring treatment (an oxidation process to provide an interference color), color patterns by computer aided design (CAD) can be produced on the sheet surfaces.
