One-photon three-dimensional printed fused silica glass with sub-micron features

Ziyong Li, Yanwen Jia, Ke Duan, Ran Xiao, Jingyu Qiao, Shuyu Liang, Shixiang Wang, Juzheng Chen, Hao Wu, Yang Lu () and Xiewen Wen ()
Additional contact information
Ziyong Li: Kowloon
Yanwen Jia: Kowloon
Ke Duan: Kowloon
Ran Xiao: Kowloon
Jingyu Qiao: Kowloon
Shuyu Liang: Kowloon
Shixiang Wang: Kowloon
Juzheng Chen: Kowloon
Hao Wu: Kowloon
Yang Lu: Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong
Xiewen Wen: Kowloon

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The applications of silica-based glass have evolved alongside human civilization for thousands of years. High-precision manufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) fused silica glass objects is required in various industries, ranging from everyday life to cutting-edge fields. Advanced 3D printing technologies have emerged as a potent tool for fabricating arbitrary glass objects with ultimate freedom and precision. Stereolithography and femtosecond laser direct writing respectively achieved their resolutions of ~50 μm and ~100 nm. However, fabricating glass structures with centimeter dimensions and sub-micron features remains challenging. Presented here, our study effectively bridges the gap through engineering suitable materials and utilizing one-photon micro-stereolithography (OμSL)-based 3D printing, which flexibly creates transparent and high-performance fused silica glass components with complex, 3D sub-micron architectures. Comprehensive characterizations confirm that the final material is stoichiometrically pure silica with high quality, defect-free morphology, and excellent optical properties. Homogeneous volumetric shrinkage further facilitates the smallest voxel, reducing the size from 2.0 × 2.0 × 1.0 μm3 to 0.8 × 0.8 × 0.5 μm3. This approach can be used to produce fused silica glass components with various 3D geometries featuring sub-micron details and millimetric dimensions. This showcases promising prospects in diverse fields, including micro-optics, microfluidics, mechanical metamaterials, and engineered surfaces.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46929-x

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