TY - JOUR
T1 - High-Precision Printing of Complex Glass Imaging Optics with Precondensed Liquid Silica Resin
AU - Hong, Zhihan
AU - Ye, Piaoran
AU - Loy, Douglas A.
AU - Liang, Rongguang
N1 - Funding Information:
Z.H. and P.Y. contributed equally to this work. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R21CA268190, S10OD018061, and R01DE030682) and National Science Foundation (NSF) (1918260). Z.H., P.Y., D.A.L., and R.L. conceived the idea and designed the study. P.Y. and D.L. prepared materials and measured the printed samples. Z.H. and R.L. performed printing experiments. Z.H., P.Y., D.A.L., and R.L. analyzed and interpreted the result, and wrote the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2022/6/23
Y1 - 2022/6/23
N2 - 3D printing of optics has gained significant attention in optical industry, but most of the research has been focused on organic polymers. In spite of recent progress in 3D printing glass, 3D printing of precision glass optics for imaging applications still faces challenges from shrinkage during printing and thermal processing, and from inadequate surface shape and quality to meet the requirements for imaging applications. This paper reports a new liquid silica resin (LSR) with higher curing speed, better mechanical properties, lower sintering temperature, and reduced shrinkage, as well as the printing process for high-precision glass optics for imaging applications. It is demonstrated that the proposed material and printing process can print almost all types of optical surfaces, including flat, spherical, aspherical, freeform, and discontinuous surfaces, with accurate surface shape and high surface quality for imaging applications. It is also demonstrated that the proposed method can print complex optical systems with multiple optical elements, completely removing the time-consuming and error-prone alignment process. Most importantly, the proposed printing method is able to print optical systems with active moving elements, significantly improving system flexibility and functionality. The printing method will enable the much-needed transformational manufacturing of complex freeform glass optics that are currently inaccessible with conventional processes.
AB - 3D printing of optics has gained significant attention in optical industry, but most of the research has been focused on organic polymers. In spite of recent progress in 3D printing glass, 3D printing of precision glass optics for imaging applications still faces challenges from shrinkage during printing and thermal processing, and from inadequate surface shape and quality to meet the requirements for imaging applications. This paper reports a new liquid silica resin (LSR) with higher curing speed, better mechanical properties, lower sintering temperature, and reduced shrinkage, as well as the printing process for high-precision glass optics for imaging applications. It is demonstrated that the proposed material and printing process can print almost all types of optical surfaces, including flat, spherical, aspherical, freeform, and discontinuous surfaces, with accurate surface shape and high surface quality for imaging applications. It is also demonstrated that the proposed method can print complex optical systems with multiple optical elements, completely removing the time-consuming and error-prone alignment process. Most importantly, the proposed printing method is able to print optical systems with active moving elements, significantly improving system flexibility and functionality. The printing method will enable the much-needed transformational manufacturing of complex freeform glass optics that are currently inaccessible with conventional processes.
KW - 3D printing
KW - glass
KW - micro-optics
KW - silica precursor
KW - two-photon polymerization
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U2 - 10.1002/advs.202105595
DO - 10.1002/advs.202105595
M3 - Article
C2 - 35470571
AN - SCOPUS:85128708312
VL - 9
JO - Advanced Science
JF - Advanced Science
SN - 2198-3844
IS - 18
M1 - 2105595
ER -