Fortschritte bei der Prozessgeschwindigkeit von diodenlaserbasierter Zwei-Photonen-Polymerisation

Abstract:
Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) is a powerful microfabrication technique capable of producing complex 3D structures with sub-diffraction-limited resolution, primarily enabled by the use of high-peak-power ultrashort pulsed lasers. However, the reliance on bulky and expensive fiber or titanium:sapphire lasers has limited the broader adoption of the 2PP technology. In this work, we present a significant advancement in diode laser-based 2PP by demonstrating processing speeds comparable to those achieved with conventional laser systems. In order to achieve this, a newly developed monolithically mode-locked diode laser emitting at 780 nm with pulse widths below 8 ps and peak powers up to 60 W was utilized. A high numerical aperture NA=1.45 objective lens was employed to enhance laser focusing and thereby improve polymerization efficiency. Fabrication of 3D microstructures was used to validate the system performance, with the resulting structures benchmarked against those created with a state-of-the-art titanium:sapphire laser system. The demonstrated increase in processing speed represents a substantial step toward the development of compact, cost-effective, and accessible 2PP systems.