Ultra-low shrinkage hybrid photosensitive material for two-photon polymerization microfabrication.
Investigations into the structuring by two-photon polymerization of a nonshrinking, photosensitive, zirconium sol-gel material are presented. This hybrid material can be photostructured even when it contains up to 30 mol % of zirconium propoxide (ZPO); by varying the material's inorganic content, it is possible to modify and tune its refractive index. The introduction of ZPO significantly increases the photosensitivity of the resulting photopolymer. The fabricated three-dimensional photonic crystal structures demonstrate high resolution and a clear band-stop in the near-IR region. In contrast to common practice, no additional effort is required to precompensate for shrinkage or to improve the structural stability of the fabricated photonic crystals; this, combined with the possibility of tuning this material's optical, mechanical, and chemical properties, makes it suitable for a variety of applications by two-photon polymerization manufacturing.
Ovsianikov
Aleksandr
A
Nanotechnology Department, Laser Zentrum Hannover eV, Hannover, Germany.
Viertl
Jacques
J
Chichkov
Boris
B
Oubaha
Mohamed
M
MacCraith
Brian
B
Sakellari
Ioanna
I
Giakoumaki
Anastasia
A
Gray
David
D
Vamvakaki
Maria
M
Farsari
Maria
M
Fotakis
Costas
C
D015392:Chemistry, Inorganic / Q000379:methods; D003460:Crystallization; D004867:Equipment Design; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008422:Materials Testing; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D044367:Phase Transition; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D017785:Photons; D012031:Refractometry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
D010087:Oxides; D015040:Zirconium