Polymer object optical fabrication process
First Claim
1. A method for fabricating three-dimensional micro-structures directly from computer models, the method comprising:
- placing a photoreactive material into a container wherein at least a part of the container is optically transparent so that said photoreactive material is accessible by light;
modifying said photoreactive material by non-degenerate two-photon absorption, wherein said modifying includes;
directing, inside said photoreactive material, one or more first light pulses comprising a pulsed patterned source light having a first wavelength range so as to form an image of pulsed patterned source light;
directing, inside said photoreactive material, one or more second light pulses having a second wavelength range so that the one or more second light pulses intersect the image of pulsed patterned source light and preselected portions of the photoreactive material are modified within a fabrication region, wherein said first wavelength range is different from said second wavelength range;
whereby at least certain photons of the one or more first light pulses intersect with at least certain photons of the one or more second light pulses to effect non-degenerate two-photon absorption within said photoreactive material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
High-volume mass-production and customization of complex three-dimensional polymer and polymer-derived-ceramic microstructures are manufactured in a single step directly from three dimensional computer models. A projection based non-degenerate two-photon induced photopolymerization method overcomes the drawbacks of conventional one and two-photon fabrication methods. The structure includes dual, synchronized, high-peak power, pulsed femtosecond and picosecond lasers combined with spatial light modulation. Applications include high-resolution rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing with an emphasis on fabrication of various Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices, especially in the area of MEMS packaging.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for fabricating three-dimensional micro-structures directly from computer models, the method comprising:
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placing a photoreactive material into a container wherein at least a part of the container is optically transparent so that said photoreactive material is accessible by light; modifying said photoreactive material by non-degenerate two-photon absorption, wherein said modifying includes; directing, inside said photoreactive material, one or more first light pulses comprising a pulsed patterned source light having a first wavelength range so as to form an image of pulsed patterned source light; directing, inside said photoreactive material, one or more second light pulses having a second wavelength range so that the one or more second light pulses intersect the image of pulsed patterned source light and preselected portions of the photoreactive material are modified within a fabrication region, wherein said first wavelength range is different from said second wavelength range; whereby at least certain photons of the one or more first light pulses intersect with at least certain photons of the one or more second light pulses to effect non-degenerate two-photon absorption within said photoreactive material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for inducing selective non-degenerate two-photon absorption events to occur, the method comprising:
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directing, at a medium, at least one pulse of photons comprising photons of a first wavelength range to populate an event region inside said medium; directing, at said medium, at least one patterned pulse of photons comprising photons of a second wavelength range to populate said event region, wherein; said medium comprises a material that is susceptible to a non-degenerate-two-photon absorption of a photon of the first wavelength range and a photon of the second wavelength range, and said at least one pulse of photons of said first wavelength range and said at least one patterned pulse of photons of said second wavelength range are directed such that non-degenerate two-photon absorption events occur at selected locations in the medium within the event region due to the coexistence of selectively positioned photons of said first wavelength range and selectively positioned photons of said second wavelength range of photons. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification