Abstract

Conventional photopolymerization-based 3D printing still requires developing a concise and cost-effective method to improve the printing resolution at the nanoscale. Here, we propose the use of a gaming console optical drive pickup unit for 3D photopolymerization. This mass-produced optical pickup unit features a finely adjustable diode laser, allowing us to adjust the printing resolution from tens of micrometres down to hundreds of nanometres without requiring oxygen radical scavenging or costly femtosecond lasers. We evaluate the 3D printing performance using a commercial photopolymer under different laser exposure parameters. The proposed printing system achieves a resolution of 385 nm along the lateral direction and XYZ nano-resolution linear stages enable a printing volume of up to 50 × 50 × 25 mm3. Finally, we demonstrate the fabrication of 3D stereoscopic microstructures. The substantially simplified optics proposed here paves the way for affordable high-resolution micro/nanoscale 3D fabrication.

Highlights

  • Conventional photopolymerization-based 3D printing still requires developing a concise and cost-effective method to improve the printing resolution at the nanoscale

  • Numerous ideas and materials have fostered the development of 3D printing techniques, including filament disposition modelling[5], selective laser sintering[6,7], PolyJet[8], aerosol jet printing[9], digital light processing[10,11], continuous liquid interface production[12,13], and stereolithography (STL)[14]

  • Considering an inverted STL system[36], we designed a 3D printer with the laser spot directed upward

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Summary

Introduction

Conventional photopolymerization-based 3D printing still requires developing a concise and cost-effective method to improve the printing resolution at the nanoscale. Numerous ideas and materials have fostered the development of 3D printing techniques, including filament disposition modelling[5], selective laser sintering[6,7], PolyJet[8], aerosol jet printing[9], digital light processing[10,11], continuous liquid interface production[12,13], and stereolithography (STL)[14]. These manufacturing techniques have enabled the fabrication of innovative geometries to obtain structures with new properties and applications. ; ð1Þ where Dp is the penetration depth of the laser into the photopolymer, E0 is the laser intensity on the photopolymer surface, and

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