A. Ovsianikov
J. Viertl
B. N. Chichkov
M. Oubaha
B. D. MacCraith
I. Sakellari
A. Giakoumaki
D. Gray
M. Vamvakaki
M. Farsari

Ultra-Low Shrinkage Hybrid Photosensitive Material for Two-Photon Polymerization Microfabrication

ACS Nano
11
2
2257-2262
2008
Type: Zeitschriftenaufsatz (reviewed)
Abstract
Investigations into the structuring by two-photon polymerization of a nonshrinking, photosensitive, zirconium sol−gel material are presented. This hybrid material can be photostructured even when it contains up to 30 mol \% of zirconium propoxide (ZPO); by varying the material’s inorganic content, it is possible to modify and tune its refractive index. The introduction of ZPO significantly increases the photosensitivity of the resulting photopolymer. The fabricated three-dimensional photonic crystal structures demonstrate high resolution and a clear band-stop in the near-IR region. In contrast to common practice, no additional effort is required to precompensate for shrinkage or to improve the structural stability of the fabricated photonic crystals; this, combined with the possibility of tuning this material’s optical, mechanical, and chemical properties, makes it suitable for a variety of applications by two-photon polymerization manufacturing.