Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have developed a method to produce high-performance, multi-element optical components using consumer-grade 3D printers and inexpensive materials. These components, each costing less than $1 to produce, enable super-resolution imaging.
This development aims to make advanced, customizable imaging systems more accessible to a broader range of research projects, as high-end optical components can be expensive. Previous work by Strathclyde researchers involved using consumer-grade 3D printers for basic lenses and a fully 3D-printed microscope.
The new approach focuses on creating inexpensive lenses for use in a multifocal structured illumination microscope (SIM), which uses patterned light to capture details below the normal diffraction limit. A primary challenge addressed was reducing optical scattering in 3D-printed lenses, which occurs due to the layer-by-layer printing process.
The team's manufacturing process involves initial 3D printing of a raw optic with a 'staircase' effect, followed by spin-coating with clear resin. Additional 3D printing material is applied to each lens surface to smooth out thin layers. This additive method, which is faster than traditional polishing, produces custom-designed lenses with surface smoothness comparable to commercial-grade glass lenses.
During SIM trials, a lenslet array created with this new method was compared to high-end and budget commercial optics. The 3D-printed optical lens array, used in a prototype multifocal structured illumination microscope, generated super-resolution biological data of nearly identical quality to that acquired with commercial glass lens arrays.
According to Jay Christopher from Strathclyde, this approach 'opens the possibility for customized imaging systems and unlocks imaging scenarios that are traditionally either impossible or need costly glass manufacturing services.' Christopher also stated that the method could 'empower scientists and companies to access tools previously locked behind specialist technology with high costs,' allowing them to manufacture components to solve problems and generate research and product development solutions.
The approach has potential applications in producing multiple focused points in three dimensions, exploring bio-inspired imaging and sensing designs, or combining different materials to create affordable components with integrated transparent and opaque features.