See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/321065396

Multiphoton Polymerization using Femtosecond Bessel Beam for Layerless 3D

Printing

Article  in  Journal of Micro and Nano-Manufacturing · November 2017

DOI: 10.1115/1.4038453

CITATIONS READS

5 3,171

3 authors, including:

Xiaoming Yu Meng Zhang

University of Central Florida Kansas State University
27 PUBLICATIONS   211 CITATIONS    64 PUBLICATIONS   244 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Renewable Energy View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Xiaoming Yu on 18 December 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Xiaoming Yu1
Mem. ASME
CREOL,
The College of Optics and Photonics,
University of Central Florida,
P.O. Box 162700,
Orlando, FL 32816
e-mail: yux@creol.ucf.edu
Meng Zhang
Mem. ASME
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing
Systems Engineering,
Kansas State University,
2061 Rathbone Hall 1701B Platt Street,
Manhattan, KS 66506
e-mail: meng@k-state.edu
Shuting Lei
Mem. ASME
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing
Systems Engineering,
Kansas State University,
2061 Rathbone Hall 1701B Platt Street,
Manhattan, KS 66506
Multiphoton Polymerization
Using Femtosecond Bessel
Beam for Layerless Three-
Dimensional Printing
Photopolymerization enables the printing of three-dimensional (3D) objects through suc-
cessively solidifying liquid photopolymer on two-dimensional (2D) planes. However,
such layer-by-layer process significantly limits printing speed, because a large number of
layers need to be processed in sequence. In this paper, we propose a novel 3D printing
method based on multiphoton polymerization using femtosecond Bessel beam. This
method eliminates the need for layer-by-layer processing, and therefore dramatically
increases printing speed for structures with high aspect ratios, such as wires and tubes.
By using unmodulated Bessel beam, a stationary laser exposure creates a wire with
average diameter of 100 lm and length exceeding 10 mm, resulting in an aspect
ratio > 100:1. Scanning this beam on the lateral plane fabricates a hollow tube within a
few seconds, more than ten times faster than using the layer-by-layer method. Next, we
modulate the Bessel beam with a spatial light modulator (SLM) and generate multiple
beam segments along the laser propagation direction. Experimentally observed beam
pattern agrees with optics diffraction calculation. This 3D printing method can be further
explored for fabricating complex structures and has the potential to dramatically
increase 3D printing speed while maintaining high resolution. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4038453]

1 Introduction point scanning and therefore do not solve the problem of slow
printing speed at a fundamental level. Another approach, which
With current three-dimensional (3D) printing methods, objects
will be adopted in this paper, is to apply holographic techniques to
are printed in a layer-by-layer fashion: a 3D model is sliced into
create light field with 3D structure by letting laser beam rays inter-
multiple two-dimensional (2D) layers, and each layer is printed
fere at designated location, and by using such light field for photo-
individually [1]. While commonly adopted, this layer-by-layer
polymerization, objects can be printed according to the laser
building method significantly limits 3D printing speed, because a
beam’s volumetric structure. Early work by Campbell et al. [12]
large number of layers need to be processed in sequence [2].
and Shoji and Kawata [13] demonstrated single-exposure fabrica-
Before processing a new layer, it takes additional time to recoat
tion of periodic photonic crystals based on interference from mul-
raw material and reposition the platform. As a result, it often takes
tiple laser beams. Additional processing, such as laser-induced
hours or even days to print a part [3]. The need for developing
damage or mask projection lithography, is required to fabricate
high-speed additive manufacturing processes is exemplified by
nonperiodic features [14]. Shusteff et al. showed that 3D objects
the continuous liquid interface production technique [4], which
can be printed using multiple laser beams intersecting at designed
greatly increases printing speed by continuous photopolymeriza-
location to introduce single-photon polymerization [15]. While
tion in the axial direction. This technique, however, still relies on
geometries such as cube, arc, and pyramid were successfully
curing 2D slices, since the light used to cure the resin has only 2D
printed, the use of multiple laser beams requires careful align-
structure. Therefore, there is still plenty of room for further
ment, and the use of collimated beams could limit resolution.
increase of printing speed, provided that the printing process
The ideal holographic-like 3D printing method should use a sin-
occurs within a 3D volume instead of a 2D plane, turning the
gle laser beam, can fabricate objects with complex geometry, and
layer-by-layer process into a layerless one.
should be easy to implement. As a first step toward this goal, we
The key for this layerless method is to have control of the fabri-
present in this paper a 3D printing method which applies spatial
cation process in all three spatial dimensions. Among various 3D
laser beam shaping to two-photon polymerization. Two-photon
printing schemes, photopolymerization is a good candidate to
polymerization is chosen because it allows beam propagation
realize this goal. In photopolymerization, liquid photopolymer
deep inside the resin. Laser beams typically have a Gaussian
becomes solidified when exposed to light. Depending on how light
profile. When focused by a lens, a Gaussian beam creates an ellip-
(photons) is absorbed, photopolymerization operates in either
soidal focal volume (Figs. 1(a), 2(a), and 2(b)), characterized by a
linear (single-photon) and nonlinear (multiphoton, typically two-
lateral spot size (waist) and an axial length (confocal length).
photon) regime [5,6]. Various methods have been proposed to
Recently, spatial beam shaping has gained attention for generating
increase fabrication speed for photopolymerization in both linear
non-Gaussian beam shapes [16], with not only lateral but also
and nonlinear regimes, such as image projection [7,8], multifocus
axial structures [17–20]. Our recent studies have shown that the
scanning [9,10], shell fabrication [11], and the aforementioned
Bessel beam (Figs. 1(b), 2(c), and 2(d)), commonly referred to as
continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) technique [4].
nondiffracting beam or propagation-invariant field [21], can
However, these methods still rely on layer-by-layer or point-by-
extend depth-of-focus compared to focused Gaussian beam (com-
paring Figs. 2(b) and 2(d)) and find use in laser material process-
1
Corresponding author. ing [22,23]. Here, we use the name “Bessel beam” to refer to the
Contributed by the Manufacturing Engineering Division of ASME for publication
in the JOURNAL OF MICRO- AND NANO-MANUFACTURING. Manuscript received June 14,
experimental realization of the ideal Bessel beam, which contains
2017; final manuscript received August 29, 2017; published online December 14, an infinite amount of energy and therefore can only be approxi-
2017. Assoc. Editor: Yayue Pan. mated in real world [21]. Bessel beam can be viewed as

Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing Copyright V

C 2018 by ASME MARCH 2018, Vol. 6 / 010901-1

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

 interference of conical waves created by an axicon (Fig. 1(b)).
The conical waves intersect the optical axis at an angle of a. The
length of the Bessel beam (L) can be calculated by L ¼ D/(2tana),
where D is the diameter of the input beam. While Bessel beam
has been used in material processing [24–26] and photopolymeri-
zation [10,27,28], its potential for high-throughput 3D printing
has not be fully explored.
In this paper, we use Bessel beam generated from a femtosec-
ond laser amplifier to print objects in a layerless manner through
multiphoton polymerization. First, we use unmodulated Bessel
beam to fabricate high-aspect-ratio microwires, demonstrating the
control of two-photon polymerization at a great depth. A single
lateral scan using such beam creates a tube structure within sec-
onds. Next, we show the simultaneous generation of multiple
focal segments along laser propagation direction, which are
dynamically controlled by a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator
(SLM). The beam pattern is calculated by the Fresnel diffraction
theory, which matches experimental observation. Our work
extends the control of photopolymerization into the axial direction
and opens up opportunities for future development of high-speed,
high-resolution, holographic-like 3D printing technologies.

Fig. 1 A sketch comparing Gaussian and Bessel beam: (a) A
lens focuses the input Gaussian laser beam to an ellipsoidal
focus by converting plane waves into curved wavefront. (b) An
axicon creates a Bessel (Bessel-like) beam, whose central lobe
forms a line-shaped focus. The Bessel beam consists of conical
wavefront.
2 Experimental Details
A schematic of the developed 3D printing system is shown in
Fig. 3. The laser source is a femtosecond laser amplifier delivering
35 fs laser pulses at a center wavelength of 800 nm and a repeti-
tion rate of 2 kHz. The laser power is attenuated by a variable neu-
tral density filter. A half-wave plate rotates the laser polarization
by 90 deg to meet the polarization requirement for the SLM. The
SLM (Hamamatsu X10468-02) adds phase modulation to the laser
beam. For the study with unmodulated Bessel beam, no phase
modulation is introduced, so the SLM acts as a flat mirror. When
modulation is required, phase masks (generated by MATLAB) are
used. A series of phase masks are displayed to dynamically
change the Bessel beam pattern. The beam reflected from the
SLM is focused by an axicon (Doric Lenses Inc., Quebec, QC,
Canada) with a base angle of 25 deg.

Fig. 2 Calculated intensity distribution in lateral (xy) and axial (xz) plane, for (a,b) Gaussian
and (c,d) Bessel beam with similar central spot size (2 lm). Brighter color indicates higher
intensity. Note the different z-axis in (b) and (d). Wavelength 800 nm, Gaussian focal diameter
(1/e2) 2.2 lm, Bessel beam central diameter (between first zeros) 2.7 lm, input Gaussian beam
diameter (1/e2) 10 mm.

010901-2 / Vol. 6, MARCH 2018 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

 A transparent cuvette filled with photopolymer (FormLabs
FLGPCL02) is placed in the focal region on a motorized
translation stage (Newport ILS100PP). The photopolymer is used
as-received. A camera (Mightex SME-B050-U) is placed perpen-
dicularly to the laser propagation direction to record the fabrica-
tion process. An LED light is used to illuminate the cuvette for
camera imaging. The SLM, the translation stage, and the camera
are connected to a computer for monitoring and synchronization.
After laser curing, solidified structures are picked out of the cuv-
ette and rinsed with isopropyl alcohol to remove residual liquid
resin. Optical microscopy is used to examine the printed parts.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Fabrication of High-Aspect-Ratio Microwires With
Unmodulated Bessel Beam. We first use unmodulated, ordinary
Bessel beam to fabricate high-aspect-ratio microwires. Figure 4(a)
illustrates the generation of a line-shaped focus with an axicon,
and Fig. 4(b) is a photograph taken during laser curing. The
axicon generates a Bessel beam with a narrow central lobe
(<3 lm in diameter) and a long depth-of-focus (>17 mm) [22].
When focused inside the resin, the Bessel beam generates a line-
shaped focus, which can be seen in Fig. 4(b). The line is visible in
a blue color perhaps due to fluorescence. The resin is optimized
by the manufacturer for wavelength 400 nm. Since our laser
center wavelength (800 nm) is almost twice of this optimal resin
wavelength, two-photon absorption is believed to be responsible
for the photopolymerization process. The exact nonlinear absorp-
tion order can be obtained by performing additional experiments
[29]. Our proposed 3D printing method operates in the nonlinear Fig. 4 (a) A sketch shows the formation of a line-shaped focus
absorption regime; the exact absorption order (2, 3, or more) plays using the axicon and (b) a photograph shows the line-shaped
a minor role. It is worth pointing out that the line focus is gener- focus (in blue) inside the liquid resin
ated with stationary laser exposure, without moving the laser
beam or the cuvette.
Figure 5 shows a few microwires (after being rinsed with iso- Fig. 6. These fibers are easier to observe before alcohol rinsing.
propyl alcohol) fabricated with unmodulated Bessel beam. These The number of fibers contained in a wire tends to increase with
wires have a typical length of 11 mm, which is limited by the size laser power. The previously reported self-writing effect [27,30]
of the cuvette. Longer wires are possible by using a larger resin may contribute to this phenomenon. The drifting of the solidified
container and a laser beam with a larger diameter. As can be seen region (shown later) may be another factor, because initially
from Figs. 5(b)–5(c), these wires are slightly tapered. The top end solidified region can drift away from the line focus, causing new
(closer to the axicon) of the wires has a diameter of 150 lm, and solidification. The small diameter of these fibers suggests that the
the other end is 60 lm. With an average diameter of 100 lm, resolution of Bessel beam curing can be as high as focused
these wires have an aspect ratio exceeding 100:1. The diameter is
much larger than the size of the Bessel beam central lobe
(<3 lm), perhaps due to self-writing and part drifting (discussed
later). We have tested that these microwires can endure multiple
mechanical manipulations (bending, stretching, twisting) without
breaking. More tests are in progress to assess their mechanical
performance quantitatively.
We notice that the microwires consist of multiple fibers, which
have a diameter as small as several micrometers, as shown in

Fig. 5 (a) Three microwires with a typical length of 11 mm

fabricated with the unmodulated Bessel beam. (b) and (c) are
magnified optical microscopy images showing the top and bot-
Fig. 3 Experimental setup tom end of a microwire, respectively. Laser power is 100 mW.

Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing MARCH 2018, Vol. 6 / 010901-3

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

 Fig. 6 Optical microscopy images of microwires fabricated with laser power of (a) 20 mW
and (c) 40 mW. (b) and (d) are magnified images. The wires are observed before alcohol rins-
ing and found to consist of multiple thin fibers.

Gaussian beam curing, provided that the self-writing effect and responsible for the deformation, such as laser radiation pressure
part drifting can be better controlled. Printing resolution can be [27]. One could use solid photo-sensitive material, such as SU-8,
further improved to sub-100 nm scale by exploring nonlinear to avoid the drift of printed objects in liquid.
light–matter interaction [31]. The time-resolved imaging of the
polymerization process (will be shown in Sec. 3.2) could be a use- 3.3 Using Bessel Beam to Print a Tube in a Few Seconds.
ful way to study this phenomenon. Note that the wires shown in In this section, the possibility of fast 3D printing with Bessel
Fig. 6 are more transparent than those in Fig. 5, because the for- beam curing is presented in a test case. As shown in Fig. 8, the
mer are still immersed in the liquid resin, which acts as a refrac- unmodulated Bessel beam irradiates through the cuvette, which is
tive index-matching liquid reducing scattered light from the rough mounted on a motorized translation stage and moves in a circular
interface. trajectory (depicted on the bottom). The entire printing sequence
is completed in 1–2 s. As a comparison, the printing time for the
3.2 Dynamics of the Fabrication Process. The dynamics of same tube (10 mm length, 1 mm diameter, 0.1 mm thickness) is
the photopolymerization process is studied by recording a 4–17 min depending on tube orientation, as estimated by the
sequence of images during laser curing (Fig. 7). We observe sev-
eral interesting features. First, the wire does not grow at a constant
speed. In the example shown in Fig. 7, the laser exposure starts at
t ¼ 0 s and stops around t ¼ 2 s. Yellow arrows mark the growth
front, i.e., the leading edge of the growing wire. By measuring the
position of the growth front in each image, we can obtain the rela-
tionship between wire length and exposure time (plotted in the
inset). We can see that before t ¼ 1 s the wire grows at a slower
speed, and then the speed increases to about 2 mm/s after 1 s. After
2 s the speed drops. Explanations for this nonconstant growth
speed are the laser intensity variation along the propagation direc-
tion (Fig. 2(d)) and resin inhomogeneity. Modifying laser intensity
[32] and stirring the resin before use could lead to more uniform
curing. The growth speed of 2 mm/s suggests that the printing
speed could be fast. Printing speed can be further increased by
using high-repetition-rate laser and by optimizing resin recipe.
Other interesting features shown in Fig. 7 are the formation of
what are believed to be bubbles [33] (pointed by blue arrows) and
the deformation of the solidified wire (circled in red). The bubbles
Fig. 7 A sequence of images show the microwire growing pro-
appear randomly on or in the vicinity of the microwire, and gradu-
cess. Yellow arrows mark the growth front, blue arrows point to
ally disappear with time. These bubbles appear only during laser what are believed to be bubbles (which disappear over time),
exposure. The deformation of the wire occurs after several and a red circle marks wire deformation perhaps due to thermal
seconds, and because the deformed region tends to drift upward, it effect. Laser power is 50 mW. Laser exposure stops around
is perhaps caused by the heat absorbed in the resin during the laser t 5 2 s. Inset shows the length of the wire increases with expo-
exposure. However, we do not rule out other mechanisms sure time.

010901-4 / Vol. 6, MARCH 2018 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

 Fig. 8 Printing a hollow tube by rotating the translation stage. The entire printing process
lasts 1–2 s. Arrow in the last image points to the printed hollow tube. Bottom shows that the
cuvette rotates in a circular trajectory.

FORMLABS PREFORM software using the fastest printing setting
(Form 1 printer, clear resin, 0.1 mm layer thickness) [34], more
than ten times longer than our Bessel beam scanning method. The
laser power is 2 W, and the scanning speed is 6 mm/s. After laser
curing, the tube is picked out of the cuvette and cleaned with iso-
propyl alcohol, as shown in Fig. 9. While the overall geometry
matches the designed shape, we observe imperfections, such as
disconnected edges (Fig. 9(b)). The disconnection is perhaps due
to the thermal drift discussed in Sec. 3.2, i.e., during printing,
materials that has been polymerized tend to drifts upward because
of temperature rise, causing displacement of new photopolymeri-
zation volume relative to the already-formed structure. Further
studies are needed to quantify part quality, such as geometry accu-
racy and surface roughness, and improve part quality by optimiz-
ing laser parameters and resin recipes.
3.4 Generation of Multiple Focal Spots: Theory and
Experiment. The line-shaped focus presented in previous sec-
tions is useful for building objects with identical cross sections,
such as tubes and walls. In Secs. 3.1–3.3, we demonstrate that the
focal line can be broken at predetermined location to produce
Bessel beam segments, which serve as basic building blocks for
complex structures. Figure 10 illustrates how the segments are
generated. The original Gaussian beam is converted by the SLM
into multiple concentric rings, which are then focused by the same
axicon. Each ring creates a Bessel beam segment. The length and
axial location of the segment are determined by the width and
radius of the ring, respectively. Using these segments, photopoly-
merization with axial (Z) structures can occur with single laser
exposure, and by a single lateral (XY) scan, objects with complex
structures can be printed. Since only one lateral scan is needed,
and such scan can be fast with, for example, galvo mirrors, 3D
printers based on this approach can be orders-of-magnitude faster
than current, layer-by-layer, or point-by-point scanning methods,
based on the previous tube-printing results (Figs. 8 and 9).
As shown in Fig. 10, we have successfully achieved multiple
segments inside resin. In Fig. 10(a), the SLM changes the circular
input beam to three rings (shown in red), which are focused by the
axicon to form three segments (shown in blue). The number of
segments can be changed dynamically during printing by chang-
ing phase masks on the SLM, as shown in Fig. 10(b) where four
segments are achieved.

Fig. 9 Hollow tubes printed with the method shown in Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) are two ends of a
tube. (c) and (d) show the side wall.

Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing MARCH 2018, Vol. 6 / 010901-5

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

 Fig. 10 Generation of multiple beam segments with SLM. Examples for 3 and 4 segments are
shown in (a) and (b), respectively. Top row illustrates how different phase masks generate dif-
ferent numbers of segments. Bottom images are experimentally observed segments inside
resin.

We note that the brightness contrast of the four segments is   eikL2 ð ð    

lower than the three segments. Simulation results (not shown EFocus x00 ; y00 ¼ EAX x0 ; y0 TAX x0 ; y0 exp
here) indicate that the reduced contrast is caused by light diffrac- ikL2
 h  (3)
tion originated from dividing the original smooth Gaussian beam ik   i
ðx0  x00 Þ2 þ y0  y00 2 dx0 dy0
into multiple rings that have sharp edges. Diffraction gradually 2L2
increases the ring width as the beam propagates from the SLM,
causing neighboring segments to overlap with each other after the where L2 is the distance between the axicon and the position
axicon. One can reduce the distance between the SLM and the where the laser field needs to be determined.
axicon to alleviate this diffraction effect. The use of this axial
beam shaping approach for printing complex structures, such as
photonic crystals and scaffolds, is in progress.
To calculate the beam pattern, we have developed a computer
program based on the Fresnel diffraction theory [35]. As shown in
Fig. 11(a), the simulation starts from a transmission function,
TSLM ðx; yÞ, representing the phase mask on the SLM
( pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1; ri  x2 þ y2  ri0 ; i ¼ 1; 2; …; M
TSLM ðx; yÞ ¼ (1)
0; elsewhere

where ri (ri0 ) is the inner (outer) radius of each ring and M is the
total number of rings. For phase-only SLMs (like the one used
here), TSLM ðx; yÞ ¼ 1 is achieved with a flat phase (zero for exam-
ple), and TSLM ðx; yÞ ¼ 0 is achieved using a checkerboard pattern
[36]. The energy efficiency (g) of the phase mask can be calcu-
lated as the ratio between the total area of the rings with transmis-
sion TSLM ¼ 1 and the total area of the input beam with a radius R,
P
i.e., g ¼ M 02 2 2
i¼1 ðri  ri Þ=R . In this calculation, the input beam is
assumed to have a flat-top intensity distribution.
Then, we calculate the laser field on the input plane of the axi-
con, EAX ðx0 ; y0 Þ

  eikL1 ð ð
EAX x0 ; y0 ¼ TSLM ð x; yÞexp
ikL1
 h  (2)
ik   i
ð x  x0 Þ2 þ y  y0 2 dxdy
2L1

where k is the laser wavelength, k ¼ 2p/k is the wave number, and
L1 is the distance between the SLM, and the axicon. EAX ðx0 ; y0 Þ is
then multiplied by the transmission function of the axicon,
TAX ðx0 ; y0 Þ. The final laser field in the focal region, EFocus ðx00 ; y00 Þ,
can be calculated as
Fig. 11 (a) Illustration of the model used for beam pattern cal-
culation. (b) Experimentally observed and (c) calculated beam
pattern. Vertical dashed lines mark the boundaries of the cuv-
ette. In (c), low and high intensities are colored in white and
blue, respectively.

010901-6 / Vol. 6, MARCH 2018 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use


Fig. 12 Generation of multiple segments and dynamic change
of their location in the axial direction. (a) Resin tank before laser
irradiation. ((b)–(e)) Arrows track the movement of a focal spot.
All the focal spots move to the right.
In Figs. 11(b) and 11(c), we compare the experimentally
observed three segments with the simulation results. We find a
good agreement between the two results, in terms of the lengths of
the segments and their spacings. However, since our calculation is
for the optical field only, we have ignored the light–matter inter-
action, such as the refractive index change of the resin during
solidification. A more complete model is being developed which
will capture linear and nonlinear light–matter interaction.
The axial position of these segments can be dynamically con-
trolled by loading a series of phase masks on the SLM. To demon-
strate this, Fig. 12 shows the movement (from the left to the right)
of these segments inside the resin. The direction of movement can
be reversed by reversing the SLM phase mask sequence. Since
each ring on the SLM corresponds to a Bessel beam segment
(Fig. 10), dynamically changing the radius and width of the rings
can change the segments’ position and length, respectively.
4 Conclusion
This paper presents a novel 3D printing method based on
femtosecond-Bessel-beam-induced two-photon polymerization.
For unmodulated Bessel beam, a stationary laser exposure creates
a line-shaped focus inside liquid photopolymer, and wires with
high aspect ratios (>100:1) are fabricated. Tubes are printed by
scanning this beam on the lateral (XY) plane, and the printing time
is reduced by more than ten times compared to point-by-point
scanning. Multiple Bessel beam segments are generated along the
Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing
Downloaded From: http://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use
laser propagation (Z) direction by spatially shaping the input
beam into concentric rings. The position and length of these beam
segments are dynamically controlled by the SLM. The experimen-
tally observed beam pattern is found to agree with numerical cal-
culation. Our work demonstrates that photopolymerization can be
controlled in the axial direction and is a first step toward layerless,
holographic-like, volume-by-volume 3D printing which can be
orders-of-magnitude faster than existing methods while maintain-
ing high spatial resolution.
Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge laser support from Professor Vinod
Kumarappan, Dr. Suresh Yalargadda, Huynh Lam, and the J.R.
Macdonald Laboratory at Kansas State University.
References
[1] Gibson, I., Rosen, D., and Stucker, B., 2015, Additive Manufacturing Technolo-
gies, Springer, New York.
[2] Oropallo, W., and Piegl, L. A., 2016, “Ten Challenges in 3D Printing,” Eng.
Comput., 32(1), pp. 135–148.
[3] LaFratta, C. N., and Li, L., 2016, Three-Dimensional Microfabrication Using
Two-Photon Polymerization, William Andrew Publishing, Oxford, UK, pp.
221–241.
[4] Tumbleston, J. R., Shirvanyants, D., Ermoshkin, N., Janusziewicz, R., Johnson,
A. R., Kelly, D., Chen, K., Pinschmidt, R., Rolland, J. P., Ermoshkin, A.,
Samulski, E. T., and DeSimone, J. M., 2015, “Continuous Liquid Interface
Production of 3D Objects,” Science, 347(6228), pp. 1349–1352.
[5] Jacobs, P. F., 1992, Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing: Fundamentals of
Stereolithography, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Dearborn, MI.
[6] Baldacchini, T., 2016, Three-Dimensional Microfabrication Using Two-Photon
Polymerization: Fundamentals, Technology, and Applications, William
Andrew Publishing, Oxford, UK.
[7] Chatwin, C., Farsari, M., Huang, S., Heywood, M., Birch, P., Young, R., and
Richardson, J., 1998, “UV Microstereolithography System That Uses Spatial
Light Modulator Technology,” Appl. Opt., 37(32), pp. 7514–22.
[8] Sun, C., Fang, N., Wu, D. M., and Zhang, X., 2005, “Projection Micro-
Stereolithography Using Digital Micro-Mirror Dynamic Mask,” Sens. Actuators
A, 121(1), pp. 113–120.
[9] Vizsnyiczai, G., Kelemen, L., and Ormos, P., 2014, “Holographic Multi-Focus
3D Two-Photon Polymerization With Real-Time Calculated Holograms,” Opt.
Express, 22(20), pp. 24217–24223.
[10] Yang, L., Qian, D., Xin, C., Hu, Z., Ji, S., Wu, D., Hu, Y., Li, J., Huang, W.,
and Chu, J., 2017, “Two-Photon Polymerization of Microstructures by a Non-
Diffraction Multifoci Pattern Generated From a Superposed Bessel Beam,”
Opt. Lett., 42(4), pp. 743–746.

[11] Malinauskas, M., Zukauskas, A., Purlys, V., Belazaras, K., Momot, A.,
Paipulas, D., Gadonas, R., Piskarskas, A., Gilbergs, H., Gaidukeviči ut_e, A.,
Sakellari, I., Farsari, M., and Juodkazis, S., 2010, “Femtosecond Laser
Polymerization of Hybrid/Integrated Micro-Optical Elements and Their Charac-
terization,” J. Opt., 12(12), p. 124010.
[12] Campbell, M., Sharp, D. N., Harrison, M. T., Denning, R. G., and Turberfield,
A. J., 2000, “Fabrication of Photonic Crystals for the Visible Spectrum by
Holographic Lithography,” Nature, 404(6773), pp. 53–56.
[13] Shoji, S., and Kawata, S., 2000, “Photofabrication of Three-Dimensional
Photonic Crystals by Multibeam Laser Interference Into a Photopolymerizable
Resin,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 76(19), pp. 2668–2670.
[14] Burrow, G. M., Leibovici, M. C. R., and Gaylord, T. K., 2012, “Pattern-
Integrated Interference Lithography: Single-Exposure Fabrication of Photonic-
Crystal Structures,” Appl. Opt., 51(18), pp. 4028–4041.
[15] Shusteff, M., Panas, R. M., Henriksson, J., Kelly, B. E., Browar, A. E. M.,
Fang, N. X., Spadaccini, C. M., Shusteff, M., Panas, R. M., Henriksson, J.,
Kelly, B. E., Browar, A. E. M., Fang, N. X., and Spadaccini, C. M., 2016,
“Additive Fabrication of 3D Structures by Holographic Lithography,” 27th
Annual Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (SFF), Austin, TX, Aug. 8–10,
pp. 1183–1192.
[16] Dickey, F. M., 2014, Laser Beam Shaping: Theory and Techniques, 2nd ed.,
CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
[17] Whyte, G., and Courtial, J., 2005, “Experimental Demonstration of Holographic
Three-Dimensional Light Shaping Using a Gerchberg–Saxton Algorithm,” New
J. Phys., 7, p. 117.
[18] Mathis, A., Courvoisier, F., Froehly, L., Furfaro, L., Jacquot, M., Lacourt, P.
A., and Dudley, J. M., 2012, “Micromachining Along a Curve: Femtosecond
Laser Micromachining of Curved Profiles in Diamond and Silicon Using
Accelerating Beams,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 101(7), pp. 99–102.
[19] Ren, H., Lin, H., Li, X., and Gu, M., 2014, “Three-Dimensional Parallel
Recording With a Debye Diffraction-Limited and Aberration-Free Volumetric
Multifocal Array,” Opt. Lett., 39(6), pp. 1621–1624.
[20] Jabbour, T. G., and Kuebler, S. M., 2008, “Particle-Swarm Optimization of
Axially Superresolving Binary-Phase Diffractive Optical Elements,” Opt. Lett.,
33(13), pp. 1533–1535.
[21] Turunen, J., and Friberg, A. T., 2010, “Chapter 1—Propagation-Invariant
Optical Fields,” Prog. Opt., 54, pp. 1–88.
MARCH 2018, Vol. 6 / 010901-7
 [22] Yu, X., Ma, J., and Lei, S., 2015, “Femtosecond Laser Scribing of Mo Thin
Film on Flexible Substrate Using Axicon Focused Beam,” J. Manuf. Process.,
20(Part 1), pp. 349–355.
[23] Yu, X., Trallero-Herrero, C. A., and Lei, S., 2016, “Materials Processing With
Superposed Bessel Beams,” Appl. Surf. Sci., 360(Part B), pp. 833–839.
[24] Bhuyan, M. K., Courvoisier, F., Lacourt, P. A., Jacquot, M., Salut, R., Furfaro,
L., and Dudley, J. M., 2010, “High Aspect Ratio Nanochannel Machining Using
Single Shot Femtosecond Bessel Beams,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 97(8), p. 81102.
[25] Xie, C., Jukna, V., Milian, C., Giust, R., Ouadghiri-Idrissi, I., Itina, T., Dudley,
J. M., Couairon, A., and Courvoisier, F., 2015, “Tubular Filamentation for
Laser Material Processing,” Sci. Rep., 5, p. 8914.
[26] Courvoisier, F., Lacourt, P.-A., Jacquot, M., Bhuyan, M. K., Furfaro, L., and
Dudley, J. M., 2009, “Surface Nanoprocessing With Nondiffracting Femtosec-
ond Bessel Beams,” Opt. Lett., 34(20), p. 3163.
[27] Jezek, J., Cizmar, T., Nedela, V., and Zemanek, P., 2006, “Formation of Long
and Thin Polymer Fiber Using Nondiffracting Beam,” Opt. Express, 14(19),
pp. 8506–8515.
[28] Yang, L., El-Tamer, A., Hinze, U., Li, J., Hu, Y., Huang, W., Chu, J., and
Chichkov, B. N., 2014, “Two-Photon Polymerization of Cylinder Microstruc-
tures by Femtosecond Bessel Beams,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 105(4), p. 41110.
010901-8 / Vol. 6, MARCH 2018
DownloadedViewFrom:
publicationhttp://micronanomanufacturing.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/
stats on 12/18/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use
[29] Tomova, Z., Liaros, N., Gutierrez Razo, S. A., Wolf, S. M., and Fourkas, J. T.,
2016, “In Situ Measurement of the Effective Nonlinear Absorption Order in
Multiphoton Photoresists,” Laser Photon. Rev., 10(5), pp. 849–854.
[30] Shoji, S., Kawata, S., Sukhorukov, A. A., and Kivshar, Y. S., 2002, “Self-Written
Waveguides in Photopolymerizable Resins,” Opt. Lett., 27(3), pp. 185–187.
[31] Hohmann, J. K., Renner, M., Waller, E. H., and von Freymann, G., 2015,
“Three-Dimensional M-Printing: An Enabling Technology,” Adv. Opt. Mater.,
3(11), pp. 1488–1507.
[32] Cizmar, T., and Dholakia, K., 2009, “Tunable Bessel Light Modes: Engineering
the Axial Propagation,” Opt. Express, 17(18), pp. 15558–15570.
[33] Saha, S. K., Divin, C., Cuadra, J. A., and Panas, R. M., 2017, “Effect of
Proximity of Features on the Damage Threshold During Submicron Additive
Manufacturing Via Two-Photon Polymerization,” J. Micro Nano-Manuf., 5(3),
p. 31002.
[34] Formlabs, 2017, “Formlabs,” Formlabs, Somerville, MA, accessed Nov. 20,
2017, https://formlabs.com/
R
V
[35] Voelz, D. G., 2011, Computational Fourier Optics: A MATLAB Tutorial,
Society of Photo Optical, Bellingham, WA.
[36] Litvin, I. A., Dudley, A., Roux, F. S., and Forbes, A., 2012, “Azimuthal Decom-
position With Digital Holograms,” Opt. Express, 20(10), pp. 10996–11004.
Transactions of the ASME