The effects of femtosecond laser machining on surface characteristics and subsurface microstructure of a Nitinol alloy were studied. The femtosecond laser machining produced an average surface roughness of 0.2 mum. A re-deposited layer of 7 mum and a hardened layer of 70 mum were also resulted from the machining, (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.