Abstract

Light-based 3D printing driven by photo-polymerization provides high-resolution features (~1 μm) compared to other printing technologies. Owing to the linear absorption of light, the lateral resolution is limited by the focal spot, which is on the order of the light wavelength. One strategy to further improve the resolution is the use of two-photon polymerization (TPP). The polymerization is triggered by the simultaneous absorption of two low-energy photons. This quadratic dependence of TPP offers high spatial resolution [1] (~100 nm) and enables the fabrication of remarkable nanoscale structures [2,3]. However, expensive femtosecond laser is required to reach the high peak intensity for TPP, which limits the broad application of this technology. The next generation of 3D printing might need nonlinear absorption with the use of a cheap continuous-wave (CW) laser.

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