German Companies Partner for Macroscopic Polymer Production

LightFab GmbH, Bartels Mikrotechnik GmbH, Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, and Fraunhofer ILT are jointly executing the HoPro-3D project, a plan to create a new machine for producing macroscopic polymer structures with a resolution in the sub-μm range.

The multiphoton polymerization is suitable for constructing even finer structures. In this process, the necessary photon energy is generated by intense laser pulses with wavelengths in the visible or IR range, with several low-energy photons virtually adding up to a UV photon. The advantage is the extremely high precision of up to 100 nm in all three spatial directions; however, the build rate is only about 10 μm³/s.

The project partners are now combining the digital light processor-based process with the multiphoton polymerization process and developing a machine with two selectable exposure systems for either high build rates or high precision. They use high-performance LEDs emitting at 365-nm wavelengths and a digital light processor chip with high-definition resolution for lithography. The multiphoton polymerization module uses a femtosecond laser with a fast scanner and microscope optics.

HoPro-3D will run for three years and is coordinated by Fraunhofer ILT. The project is supported by the European Fund for Regional Development.