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ABSTRACT Printing of high‐resolution three‐dimensional nanostructures utilizing two‐photon polymerization has gained significant attention recently. In particular, isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX) has been implemented as a photoinitiator due to its capability of initiating and depleting polymerization on demand, but new photoinitiating materials are still needed in order to reduce the power requirements for the high‐throughput creation of 3D structures. To address this point, a suite of new thioxanthone‐based photoinitiators were synthesized and characterized. Then two‐photon polymerization was performed using the most promising photoinitiating molecule. Importantly, one of the initiators, 2,7‐bis[(4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl ethynyl)‐9H‐thioxanthen‐9‐one] (BDAPT), showed a fivefold improvement in the writing threshold over the commonly used ITX molecule. To elucidate the fundamental mechanism, the excitation and inhibition behavior of the BDAPT molecule were evaluated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, low‐temperature phosphorescence spectroscopy, ultra‐fast transient absorption spectroscopy, and the two‐photon Z‐scan spectroscopic technique. The improved polymerization threshold of this new photoinitiator presents a clear pathway for the modification of photoinitiators in 3D nanoprinting. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys.2019,57, 1462–1475 

Abstract There is demand for scaling up 3D printing throughput, especially for the multi-photon 3D printing process that provides sub-micrometer structuring capabilities required in diverse fields. In this work, high-speed projection multi-photon printing is combined with spatiotemporal focusing for fabrication of 3D structures in a rapid, layer-by-layer, and continuous manner. Spatiotemporal focusing confines printing to thin layers, thereby achieving print thicknesses on the micron and sub-micron scale. Through projection of dynamically varying patterns with no pause between patterns, a continuous fabrication process is established. A numerical model for computing spatiotemporal focusing and imaging is also presented which is verified by optical imaging and printing results. Complex 3D structures with smooth features are fabricated, with millimeter scale printing realized at a rate above 10 −3 mm 3 s −1 . This method is further scalable, indicating its potential to make fabrications of 3D structures with micro/nanoscale features in a practical time scale a reality. 

Two ultrabroadband and omnidirectional perfect absorbers based on transversely symmetrical multilayer structures are presented, which are achieved by four absorptive metal chromium (Cr) layers, antireflection coatings, and the substrates, glass and PMMA, in the middle. At the initial step, the proposed planar structure shows an average absorption of ∼93% over the visible (VIS) and near-infrared range from 400 to 2500 nm and 98% in the VIS range. The optimum flat is optically characterized by the transfer matrix method and local metal-insulator-metal resonance under illumination with transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic polarization waves. The multilayer materials, which are deposited on an intermediate substrate by e-beam evaporation, outperform the previously reported absorbers in the fabrication process and exhibit a great angular tolerance of up to 60°. Afterward, we present a novel symmetrical flexible absorber with the PMMA substrate, which shows not only perfect absorption but also the effect of stress equilibrium. The presented devices are expected to pave the way for practical use of solar-thermal energy harvesting.