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Geometric determinants of sinterless, low-temperature-processed 3D-nanoprinted glass
Adira Colton1, Ryan N Halli1, M Rho Ma1,2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Microsystems & Nanoengineering
|July 17, 2025
Summary
Three-dimensional (3D) printing of fused silica glass using two-photon direct laser writing (DLW) shows feature size impacts optical and mechanical properties. Thicker 3D-printed glass microstructures exhibit reduced transparency and mechanical strength, limiting applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Glass materials are crucial for microsystems in optics, photonics, microfluidics, and biomedicine.
- Additive manufacturing, specifically three-dimensional (3D) printing, offers new possibilities for glass micro/nanotechnologies.
- Two-photon direct laser writing (DLW) of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)-based resins enables sinterless, low-temperature 3D printing of fused silica glass.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the feature size of DLW-printed glass microstructures affects their optical and mechanical properties.
- To establish critical benchmarks for the use of 3D-printed POSS-based fused silica glass in emerging applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two-photon direct laser writing (DLW) to fabricate fused silica glass microstructures from POSS-based resins.
- Experimentally assessed optical transparency of DLW-printed microlenses at varying feature sizes.
- Conducted compressive loading tests on hollow glass cylindrical microstructures to determine mechanical properties (e.g., Young's modulus) as a function of wall thickness.
Main Results:
- Optical transparency remained comparable up to 40 µm feature thickness, but significantly decreased at 60 µm (87.87% to 63.57%).
- Mechanical performance, specifically Young's modulus, remained consistent up to 30 µm wall thickness, then degraded substantially (251.6 MPa to 99.7 MPa between 30 µm and 40 µm).
- Successfully fabricated and demonstrated POSS-based glass microneedle arrays (MNAs) for biomedical microinjection applications, leveraging the established property benchmarks.
Conclusions:
- DLW-printed fused silica glass microstructures exhibit size-dependent optical and mechanical properties.
- Feature size is a critical determinant influencing the performance limits of these 3D-printed glass components.
- This study provides essential data for designing and utilizing 3D-printed glass microstructures in advanced applications, including biomedical devices.
