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Shaping the Amplitude and Phase of Laser Beams by Using a Phase-only Spatial Light Modulator
Published on: January 28, 2019
High-efficiency multi-scale holographic volumetric 3D printing with a phase light modulator
Maria Isabel Álvarez-Castaño1, Riccardo Rizzo2, Viola Sgarminato2,3
1Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland. maria.alvarezcastano@epfl.ch.
Light, Science & Applications
|May 19, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a novel phase light modulator (PLM) for holographic volumetric additive manufacturing (HoloVAM), significantly boosting laser power efficiency for 3D printing. This advancement enables faster, high-resolution printing of diverse materials and scales.
Area of Science:
- Additive Manufacturing
- Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Light-based 3D printing, specifically Tomographic Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (TVAM), uses photocurable resins to create complex structures.
- Traditional TVAM with digital micromirror devices (DMDs) has low light projection efficiency (below a few percent).
- Recent phase encoding methods improved TVAM efficiency to ~10% but were limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the first 3D printing platform using a phase light modulator (PLM) for enhanced volumetric additive manufacturing.
- To demonstrate significantly increased laser power efficiency and printing capabilities compared to existing methods.
- To explore the use of new materials and printing scales with this advanced holographic technique.
Main Methods:
- Developed a 3D printing platform utilizing a phase light modulator (PLM) based on micro-electro-mechanical piston mirrors.
- Integrated the PLM with a speckle reduction method for holographic volumetric additive manufacturing (HoloVAM).
- Tested printing across various scales (micrometers to centimeters) and materials (resins, hydrogels, cell-laden hydrogels).
Main Results:
- The PLM-based phase encoding achieved a 70-fold increase in laser power efficiency compared to amplitude encoding.
- Successfully printed 3D objects from hundreds of micrometers to centimeters, including cell-laden hydrogels (1 million cells/mL).
- Achieved a smallest positive feature size of ~30.3 μm (via Micro-CT) and printed large-scale objects (3x3x4 cm³) in 2 minutes using a 150 mW laser.
Conclusions:
- The PLM represents a significant advancement in volumetric additive manufacturing, offering unprecedented laser power efficiency.
- This technology enables high-resolution, rapid 3D printing of diverse materials and scales, including biological applications.
- The PLM opens new possibilities for holographic volumetric AM using cost-effective laser diodes.
