3D-printed glass microstructures built with strength

Working with scientists from the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany, UC Berkeley researchers have expanded the capabilities of computed axial lithography (CAL), a 3D-printing process they developed three years ago, to print much finer features and to print in glass. Their findings are published in Science.

CAL 3D-prints an entire object simultaneously, unlike current industrial 3D-printing that builds up objects from thin layers of material. Researchers use a laser to project patterns of light into a rotating volume of light-sensitive material, building up a 3D light dose that then solidifies in the desired shape. The layer-less nature of the CAL process enables smooth surfaces and complex geometries.

“When we first published this method in 2019, CAL could print objects into polymers with features down to about a third of a millimetre in size,” said Hayden Taylor, principal investigator and professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley. “Now, with micro-CAL, we can print objects in polymers with features down to about 20 millionths of a metre. And for the first time, we have shown how this method can print not only into polymers but also into glass, with features down to about 50 millionths of a metre.”