Effects of high-power laser radiation on polymers for 3D printing micro-optics

Abstract

3D printing has become a widely used technique for manufacturing micro-optical components for sensing, measurements, biomedical and quantum technologies. Hence, knowing the maximum usable power or damage thresholds of 3D-printed micro-optics becomes crucial. Here we present a first study of the damage threshold values of the IP-S photoresist under high-power cw-, fs-, and ns-pulsed laser radiation with wavelengths in the NIR range. We also study the differences between visual evaluation using bright-field microscopy, DIC-microscopy, and beam-profile damage detection. Finally, we present several application-inspired use cases of 3D printed fiber micro-optics, reaching 10.5 W output power of cw-radiation at 915 nm and 4.5 W and 550 fs pulsed operation at 1040 nm.