The Emerging Frontiers and Applications of High-Resolution 3D Printing

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing interest in the fabrication of complex high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) architectures at micro/nanoscale. These architectures can be obtained through conventional microfabrication methods including photolithography, electron-beam lithography, femtosecond laser lithography, nanoimprint lithography, etc. However, the applications of these fabrication methods are limited by their high costs, the generation of various chemical wastes, and their insufficient ability to create high-aspect-ratio 3D structures. High-resolution 3D printing has recently emerged as a promising solution, as it is capable of building multifunctional 3D constructs with optimal properties. Here we present a review on the principles and the recent advances of high-resolution 3D printing techniques, including two-photon polymerization (TPP), projection microstereoLithography (PµSL), direct ink writing (DIW) and electrohydrodynamic printing (EHDP). We also highlight their typical applications in various fields such as metamaterials, energy storage, flexible electronics, microscale tissue engineering scaffolds and organ-on-chips. Finally, we discuss the challenge and perspective of these high-resolution 3D printing techniques in technical and application aspects. We believe that high-resolution 3D printing will eventually revolutionize the microfabrication processes of 3D architectures with high product quality and diversified materials. It will also find applications in a wide scope.

Fabrication of 3D conjugated polymer structures via vat polymerization additive manufacturing

“…Despite the differences in their operating principles, they all utilize a layer-by-layer fabrication method to create 3D objects. Extensive research has been put forth to advance the resolution of additive manufacturing technologies to the micro and nano-scale for its 7 potential applications in MEMS, lab-on-a-chip and energy storage (Mao et al, 2017).…”

“…Spatial resolutions of 80 nm have been achieved with the two-photon polymerization method by utilizing high precision lasers and positioning systems (Mao et al, 2017).…”

Experimental Analysis of Electrical Conductivity of the 3D Printed Graphene

“…The quality of the printed model defined by the viscosity of the material and deposition speed. This fast and effective method easily print the complex structure in flexible manner [24] .…”

“…3D printing of Electronics also have the same processing steps of normal 3d printing such as 1.Prototype making, 2.Faster time-to-market, 3.Design flexibility, 4.Customisation and 5.Simplified Post process. More number of electronic devices are small miniature components which can have the minimal circuit element that are connected together in a specific area to influencing the flow of electrical current to make controlling the processing of data [3] . This 3d printing method is applied to printing an integrated circuits has initiated the modern electronics manufacturing to make trend in worldwide.…”

Coaxial nozzle-assisted electrohydrodynamic printing for microscale 3D cell-laden constructs

“…Microextrusion-based cell printing has the drawbacks of low printing resolution as well as the side effect of flow-induced shear stress on cell viability [9][10][11] . Electrohydrodynamic jetting or printing recently attracts extensive attentions in fabricating highresolution features based on the principle of elec tro hydro dy namically induced material flows [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . Several process parameters had been investigated to achieve stable electrohydrodynamic printing process, such as applied voltage, moving speed, feeding rate of materials and inter diameter of nozzle [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”