3D microfabrication for materials engineering

3D microfabrication allows to create materials with tailorable mechanical, photonic or plasmonic response by structuring. For example, photonic crystals or metamaterials such as circular broadband polarizers or perfect absorbers for the mid-IR range were developed with this technology. Mechanical metamaterials also benefit from the geometrical design freedom that determines mechanical properties, ranging from damage tolerance to ultralight weight and unusual twisting response.

Both Nanoscribe 3D printers, Quantum X shape and Photonic Professional GT2 offer ease of use and enormous design freedom to print delicate structures with minimal sizes typically on the submicrometer scale. Application examples also include photonic, plasmonic and mechanical metamaterials as well as biomimetic nano- and microstructures, e. g. superhydrophobic surfaces and photonic structural colors.

The choice of printing materials is decisive for the quality, function and performance of the final printed microstructures. It determines final qualities such as resolution, surface roughness, specific chemical, mechanical or optical properties. Our IP photoresins benefit from a careful selection of starting chemical systems adapted to Two-Photon Polymerization and are tailored to specific applications. For example, IP-PDMS is a soft and highly elastic photoresin for a wide range of applications, such as 3D-printed cell scaffolds and tissue engineering, 3D-structured surfaces, microfluidic devices or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). With GP-Silica Nanoscribe offers the first photoresin for 3D printing silica glass microstructures. High optical transparency combined with thermal, mechanical and chemical stability enable to explore new applications.