Multi-photon polymerization is widely recognised as a promising approach for the fabrication of fully 3D micro or nano-metric structures. The ability to write such structures at high plot rates would open new frontiers in many fields such as health, optical micro-devices, security holograms etc. Parallelization of the fabrication process increases fabrication speed. In a first parallelization approach we use a short pulsed laser (picoseconds or femtoseconds) with a diffractive optical element which allows simultaneous fabrication with hundreds write spots, decreasing the overall fabrication time. In a second approach, a 1920 x 1080 pixel spatial light modulator is imaged into an ultra-sensitive resist using continuous wave laser. However, massive parallelization can lead to unwanted fabrication artefacts. Light field overlapping in out-of-focus planes and proximity effects are currently major issues limiting the performance of parallel micro fabrication processes due to the undesired polymerisation that results. We will present our latest photo-chemical process digital simulation results and show how they are enabling us to develop and apply precompensation techniques to the plot data to fabricate structures with a smaller Z-extent and/or circumvent proximity effects.
Multi-photon polymerization (MPP) is widely recognised as promising approach for the fabrication of fully 3D micro- or nano-metric structures, occurring for example in 3D optical metasurfaces. However, increases in fabrication speed by parallelizing the write process are required to facilitate industrial scale application. We present our work on the adaptation of a photolithography simulator, Dr LITHO, to model the DOE and SLM parallelised MPP process in a novel photoplotter currently developed in the EU Fabulous project, including the calibration of key simulator parameters using feedback from the parallel MPP fabrication of different test structures.
Metasurfaces have become a key focus in research and are applied in numerous fields because of their exceptional capability to control electromagnetic waves across microwave to optical frequencies. These artificial sheet materials have the advantages of lightweight and ability to control wave propagation both on the surface and in the surrounding free space. The complexity of fabricating metasurfaces via two-photon lithography (TPL) is addressed through sophisticated modeling. Critical to the success of TPL is the ability to predict the effects of the fabrication process on the final product. This paper introduces three distinct modeling approaches that vary in complexity and predictive capabilities. We evaluate the performance and limitations of a simple threshold model, a compact model and a full model of polymerization. Through application examples, we demonstrate how these models can guide the fabrication of metasurfaces.
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