3D printing technologies are currently changing the ways objects and products are manufactured, introducing novel design and fabrication rules for building complex and highly interconnected devices. 3D printing technologies are rapidly evolving from prototyping tools to large-scale manufacturing technologies, also in photonics and optoelectronics. In these fields, main challenges are related to the specific requirements in terms of (a) optical properties of the used materials (e.g. absorption coefficients, refractive index, luminescence, optical gain, nonlinear optical response), either passive or active, (b) spatial resolution needed for achieving smooth surfaces and homogeneous 3D structures, and (c) uniformity of interfaces between diverse materials. Moreover, most of the optical components currently available by 3D printing are passive and static, i.e. they are designed to perform a specific task, and cannot be reconfigured or adapt themselves to the varying conditions of their surrounding environment. The realization of optical and photonic devices with properties tailorable by external stimuli and 3D complex and non-planar architectures would enable novel photonic devices with advanced functionalities and high stability, and open new opportunities for system integration and for the decrease of material waste. xPRINT aims at introducing novel additive manufacturing approaches for printing 4-dimensional optical components, namely optical components and devices which have complex 3D architecture and optical properties that can change in time in response to external stimuli.
The xPRINT main objectives are: (i) the engineering of additive manufacturing technologies for printing optical materials embedding stimuli-responsive compounds and (ii) the realization of printed optical components for all-optical computing and data storage.
A synergistic approach characterizes the xPRINT scientific workplan, encompassing modelling and diagnostics of the 3D printing processes, as well as advanced process engineering and spectroscopic analysis, specifically targeting photo-active and photo-responsive materials.
