A novel high-accuracy microstereolithography method employing an adaptive electro-optic mask

Abstract

A new stereo-photolithography technique to create three-dimensional micro-components using a planar, layer-by-layer, process of exposure has been developed. With this procedure, it is possible to build components with dimensions in the range 50 μm–50 mm, and feature sizes as small as 5 μm with a resolution of less than 1 μm. This newly developed system consists of eight elements: a Computer Aided Design environment supporting solid or surface modelling; a resin bath with an integrated high resolution translation stage and component built platform; an ultraviolet laser light source operating at 351.1 nm; an optical shutter; a diffractive optical element designed to re-distribute the irradiance of the laser beam from a Gaussian to a top-hat profile; a polysilicon thin film twisted nematic SVGA resolution (800×600) spatial light modulator; a multi-element lithographic reduction lens system; and a comprehensive control system. In this paper, the experimental set-up is described and examples of the microcomponents fabricated by the system are shown.