Additive Manufacturing: Applications and Directions in Photonics and Optoelectronics

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optoelectronics
• Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Additive manufacturing (AM) allows for complex 3D architectures with tailored optical properties.
• Recent advancements in AM processing of optical materials are expanding possibilities in integrated photonics and optoelectronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review progress in additive technologies for optical materials processing.
• To highlight applications and future directions of 3D printing in photonics and optoelectronics.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent additive manufacturing technologies for optical materials.
• Analysis of accessible geometries, spatial resolution, and material requirements.
• Showcasing examples of fabricated photonic and optoelectronic devices.

Main Results:

• Additive manufacturing enables the creation of diverse optical devices like LEDs, lasers, waveguides, sensors, photonic crystals, metamaterials, and micro-optical components.
• The field demonstrates significant progress in processing optical materials with high spatial resolution and complex geometries.

Conclusions:

• Additive manufacturing holds immense potential for revolutionizing photonics and optoelectronics.
• Future research should focus on printable architected materials, multimaterial platforms, and high-throughput printing for high resolution and large volumes.