Light-Based 3D Printing for Optics

Dear Colleagues,

As an additive manufacturing process, 3D printing has revolutionized many technological fields and has been particularly impactful in applications specifically regarding optics. It has enabled the fabrication of optical components and devices spanning the optical spectrum, from the terahertz to the ultraviolet regime, and across various size scales, from macroscale (centimeters) to nanoscale (nanometers). The demanding geometrical and material properties of optics are achieved using a variety of light-based 3D printing techniques, including vat polymerization, stereolithography, multi-photon polymerization, etc. Examples of printed optics with these methods include diffractive optical elements, lenses, waveguides, metasurfaces/metamaterials, photonic crystals, etc.

It is through unique and creative applications of these printing technologies that new and more efficient optical components and devices are developed. This includes new 3D printing techniques like the growing set of volumetric printing processes, including tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing, and the increasing diversity of available printed materials beyond polymers, such as glasses, semiconductors, and metals.

This Special Issue highlights a diverse range of topics related to the use of light-based additive advanced manufacturing processes to fabricate optical components and devices, aiming to capture the broad applications of 3D printing in this field. We welcome contributions in the form of experimental, theoretical, and numerical research articles, as well as comprehensive reviews and perspectives. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following research areas:

• Multi-photon polymerization;
• Light-based additive manufacturing;
• High refractive index printing;
• Optical metamaterials/metasurfaces;
• Printed optical elements: lenses, diffractive optical elements, waveguides, photonic crystals;
• Printing inorganic materials: metals, semiconductors, quantum dots;
• Optical design;
• 3D optical coatings.

Dr. Paul Somers
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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