A new Cluster article in Nature Reviews Methods Primers examines how ultrafast laser pulses can advance nanoscale 3D additive manufacturing. Postdoctoral Researcher Paul Somers and Principal Investigator Martin Wegener describe how shaped light pulses could increase the speed and resolution of light based 3D printing.
Conventional multiphoton 3D lithography creates structures by mechanically scanning a focused laser beam through a photosensitive resin. The authors discuss approaches that enable faster printing. Diffractive optical elements can split a laser pulse into multiple focal points for parallel printing. Spatiotemporal focusing can expose an entire two dimensional layer within picoseconds. Holographic techniques can further create three dimensional light patterns, potentially exposing a complete structure with a single ultrafast laser pulse. These approaches could make nanoscale 3D printing more practical for applications requiring submicrometre features and high throughput.
© Somers & Wegener, Nature Reviews Methods Primers (2026), CC BY 4.0