Precision Subsequent-Technology Printing Utilizing Optical Vortices

Revolutionary approach allows cost- and time-saving microprinting applied sciences.

Will printed images ever match the precision of a mirror’s reflection? Despite the fact that the reply should be no for some time, Osaka Metropolitan College scientists have made vital strides in precision printing with their progressive optical vortex laser-based approach that permits for the exact placement of minuscule droplets with micrometer-scale accuracy.

Present Challenges in Inkjet Printing

Inkjet know-how is a well known printing approach that emits microdroplets from a nozzle immediately onto a floor. Nonetheless, when the ink droplets are viscous, with excessive density, the nozzle usually will get clogged, a priority that has prompted the seek for extra superior applied sciences.

Breakthrough by Dr. Ken-ichi Yuyama’s Crew

A analysis group led by Dr. Ken-ichi Yuyama, a lecturer on the Graduate Faculty of Science of Osaka Metropolitan College, has succeeded in printing uniformly sized droplets, with a diameter of roughly 100 µm, utilizing a liquid movie of fluorescent ink—which is roughly 100 occasions extra viscous than water. This was achieved by irradiating the movie with an optical vortex, leading to prints of remarkable positional accuracy on the micrometer scale.

“Utilizing a particular laser beam often called an optical vortex, now we have achieved secure printing of high-viscosity liquids,” defined Dr. Yuyama. “This printing approach permits for the fabrication of microdroplet laser arrays and the micropatterning of conductive nanoinks, in addition to bioinks for cell scaffolds, resulting in the institution of next-generation printed photonic or digital units.”

The analysis outcomes have been revealed just lately within the journal ACS Photonics.

Reference: “Fabrication of an Array of Hemispherical Microlasers Utilizing Optical Vortex Laser-Induced Ahead Switch” by Ken-ichi Yuyama, Haruki Kawaguchi, Rong Wei and Takashige Omatsu, 13 September 2023, ACS Photonics.
DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.3c01005

Funding: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Expertise Company