Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Photopolymerization for High-Resolution 3D Printing

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) currently offers the highest resolution available in 3D printing (similar to 100 nm) but requires femtosecond laser pulses at very high peak intensity (similar to 1 TW/cm(2)). Here, we demonstrate 3D printing based on triplet-triplet-annihilation photopolymerization (TTAP), which achieves submicron resolution while using a continuous visible LED light source with comparatively low light intensity (similar to 10 W/cm(2)). TTAP enables submicrometer feature sizes with exposure times of similar to 0.1 s/voxel without requiring a coherent or pulsed light source, opening the door to low-cost fabrication with submicron resolution. This approach enables 3D printing of a diverse array of designs with high resolution and is amenable to future parallelization efforts.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates a 3D printing method based on TTAP, which utilizes a continuous visible LED light source to achieve submicron resolution. This approach eliminates the need for high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses, offering the potential for low-cost 3D printing with high resolution.