Establishment and Application of a Femtosecond-laser Two-photon-polymerization Additive-manufacturing System

Two-photon-polymerization additive-manufacturing systems feature high resolution and precision. However, there are few reports on specific methods and possible problems concerning the use of small lasers to independently build such platforms. In this paper, a femtosecond-laser two-photon -polymeriza-tion additive-manufacturing system containing an optical unit, control unit, monitoring unit, and testing unit is built using a miniature femtosecond laser, with a detailed building process and corresponding control software that is developed independently. This system has integrated functions of light-spot de-tection, interface searching, micro-/nanomanufacturing, and performance testing. In addition, possible problems in the processes of platform establishment, resin preparation, and actual polymerization for two-photon-polymerization additive manufacturing are explained specifically, and the causes of these problems analyzed. Moreover, the impacts of different power levels and scanning speeds on the degree of polymerization are compared, and the influence of the magnification of the object lens on the line -width is analyzed in detail. A qualitative analysis model is established, and the concepts of the threshold broadening and focus narrowing effects are proposed, with their influences and cooperative relation dis-cussed. Besides, a linear structure with micrometer accuracy is manufactured at the millimeter scale.