We demonstrate focusing as well as imaging using diffractive microoptics, manufactured by two-photon polymerization grayscale lithography (2GL), that have been 3D printed into porous silicon oxide. While typical doublet lens systems require support structures that hold the lenses in place, our optics are held by the porous media itself, decreasing both the fabrication time and design constraints while increasing the optically active area. Compared to the typical two-photon polymerization fabrication process, 2GL offers better shape accuracy while simultaneously increasing throughput. To showcase 2GL manufactured optics in porous media, we fabricate singlet diffractive lenses with a diameter of 500 µm and numerical apertures of up to 0.6. We measure the intensity distribution in the focal plane, and along the optical axis. Furthermore, we design and fabricate a doublet lens system for imaging purposes with a diameter of 600 µm and thinner than 60 µm. We examine the imaging performance with a USAF 1951 resolution test chart and determine the resolution to be 287 lp/mm. 3D printing in porous SiO2thus holds great promise for future complex and unconventional microoptical solutions.
3D printing of optical components can broaden access to optical fabrication. However, consumer options for 3D printing have been limited due to the form and roughness requirements for optics. Previous efforts have established a protocol for the fabrication of singlet lenses using a stereolithographic printer and simple post-processing techniques. Here we further elevate this research by building a consumer-grade 3D printed spectrometer utilizing achromatic doublet printed lenses. These lenses are fabricated using stereolithographic printers with a filled cavity and reduce chromatic focal shift by a factor of 6 over singlet lenses. The proof-of-concept spectrometer system incorporates a pinhole, two doublet lenses, and a dispersing prism. Opto-mechanics for the system were fabricated using an FDM 3D printer. Results from the fabricated system closely matched results obtained with a commercially available spectrometer device.
more » « less- PAR ID:
- 10531181
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optical Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Optics Continuum
- Volume:
- 1
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2770-0208
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 516
- Size(s):
- Article No. 516
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Optical lenses require feature resolution and surface roughness that are beyond most (3D) printing methods. A new continuous projection‐based vat photopolymerization process is reported that can directly shape polymer materials into optical lenses with microscale dimensional accuracy (< 14.7 µm) and nanoscale surface roughness (< 20 nm) without post‐processing. The main idea is to utilize frustum layer stacking, instead of the conventional 2.5D layer stacking, to eliminate staircase aliasing. A continuous change of mask images is achieved using a zooming‐focused projection system to generate the desired frustum layer stacking with controlled slant angles. The dynamic control of image size, objective and imaging distances, and light intensity involved in the zooming‐focused continuous vat photopolymerization are systematically investigated. The experimental results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed process. The 3D‐printed optical lenses with various designs, including parabolic lenses, fisheye lenses, and a laser beam expander, are fabricated with a surface roughness of 3.4 nm without post‐processing. The dimensional accuracy and optical performance of the 3D‐printed compound parabolic concentrators and fisheye lenses within a few millimeters are investiagted. These results highlight the rapid and precise nature of this novel manufacturing process, demonstrating a promising avenue for future optical component and device fabrication.
-
Additive manufacturing promises to revolutionize manufacturing industries. However, 3D printing of novel build materials is currently limited by constraints inherent to printer designs. In this work, a bench-top powder melt extrusion (PME) 3D printer head was designed and fabricated to print parts directly from powder-based materials rather than filament. The final design of the PME printer head evolved from the Rich Rap Universal Pellet Extruder (RRUPE) design and was realized through an iterative approach. The PME printer was made possible by modifications to the funnel shape, pressure applied to the extrudate by the auger, and hot end structure. Through comparison of parts printed with the PME printer with those from a commercially available fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer using common thermoplastics poly(lactide) (PLA), high impact poly(styrene) (HIPS), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) powders (< 1 mm in diameter), evaluation of the printer performance was performed. For each build material, the PME printed objects show comparable viscoelastic properties by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to those of the FFF objects. However, due to a significant difference in printer resolution between PME (X–Y resolution of 0.8 mm and a Z-layer height calibrated to 0.1 mm) and FFF (X–Y resolution of 0.4 mm and a Z-layer height of 0.18 mm), as well as, an inherently more inconsistent feed of build material for PME than FFF, the resulting print quality, determined by a dimensional analysis and surface roughness comparisons, of the PME printed objects was lower than that of the FFF printed parts based on the print layer uniformity and structure. Further, due to the poorer print resolution and inherent inconsistent build material feed of the PME, the bulk tensile strength and Young’s moduli of the objects printed by PME were lower and more inconsistent (49.2 ± 10.7 MPa and 1620 ± 375 MPa, respectively) than those of FFF printed objects (57.7 ± 2.31 MPa and 2160 ± 179 MPa, respectively). Nevertheless, PME print methods promise an opportunity to provide a platform on which it is possible to rapidly prototype a myriad of thermoplastic materials for 3D printing.more » « less
-
Abstract Synergizing grayscale photopolymerization and meniscus coating processes, rapid 3D printing of optical lenses is reported previously using projection microstereolithography (PµSL) process. Despite its 14 000‐fold‐improved printing speed over the femtosecond 3D printing process, PµSL still consumes significant amount of the fabrication time for precise recoating 5 µm thick fresh resin layers. At the reported speed of 24.54 mm3h−1, 3D printing of the millimeter‐size lenses still takes hours. To further improve the printing speed, the microcontinuous liquid interface production process is implemented to eliminate the time‐consuming resin recoating step. However, the micrometer‐size pores in the Teflon membrane needed for oxygen transportation are found to completely spoil the surface smoothness. The use of polydimethylsiloxane thin film possessing much refined nanoscopic porosities as the functional substitute of Teflon membrane is reported to significantly reduce the surface roughness to 13.7 nm. 3D printing of 3 mm high aspherical lens in ≈2 min at a 200‐fold‐improved speed at 4.85 × 103mm3h−1is demonstrated. The 3D printed aspherical lens has the demonstrated imaging resolution of 3.10 µm. This work represents a significant step in tackling the speed‐accuracy trade‐off of 3D printing process and thus enables rapid fabrication of customized optical components.
-
The increasing prevalence of three-dimensional (3D) printing of optical housings and mounts necessitates a better understanding of the optical properties of printing materials. This paper describes a method for using multithickness samples of 3D printing materials to measure transmittance spectra at wavelengths from 400 to 2400 nm [visible to short-wave infrared (IR)]. In this method, 3D samples with material thicknesses of 1, 2, 3, and 4 mm were positioned in front of a uniform light source with a spectrometer probe on the opposing side to measure the light transmittance. Transmission depended primarily on the thickness and color of the sample, and multiple scattering prevented the use of a simple exponential model to relate transmittance, extinction, and thickness. A Solidworks file and a 3D printer file are included with the paper to enable measurements of additional materials with the same method.