Swedish researchers have innovated 3D printing by developing silicon glass micro-optics on optical fibers, promising faster internet, improved sensors and advanced imaging systems while avoiding damage to fiber coatings from high temperature. Credit: David Callahan
Swedish researchers have 3D-printed silicon glass micro-optics on optical fibers, improving internet speed and connectivity. This technique, more robust and precise, could revolutionize remote sensing, pharmaceuticals and photonics.
In a communications first, Swedish researchers have successfully 3D printed silicon glass micro-optics directly onto the tips of optical fibers, areas as small as the cross-section of a human hair. This breakthrough could lead to faster internet speeds and improved connectivity, along with the development of smaller sensors and more compact imaging systems.
Journal reporting ACS Nanoresearchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm say that integrating silicon glass optical devices with optical fibers enables a host of innovations, including more sensitive remote sensors for the environment and healthcare.
The printing techniques they report could also prove valuable in the production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Lee-Lun Lai demonstrates the setup for printing silicon glass microstructures on optical fiber. Credit: Lee-Lun Lai demonstrates the setup for printing silicon glass microstructures on optical fiber.
Advances in printing techniques
KTH Professor Christine Gylfason says the method overcomes long-standing limitations in structuring optical fiber tips with silica glass, which he says often requires high-temperature treatment that compromises the integrity of temperature-sensitive fiber coatings. Unlike other methods, the process starts with a base material that does not contain carbon. This means that high temperatures are not required to drive out the carbon to make the glass structure transparent.
The study’s lead author, Lee-Lun Lai, says the researchers printed a silicon glass sensor that proved to be more resistant than a standard plastic sensor after multiple measurements.
Microscope image of a printed glass demonstration structure on top of an optical fiber. Credit: David Callahan
“We demonstrated a glass refractive index sensor integrated into the tip of the fiber, which allowed us to measure the concentration of organic solvents. This measurement is challenging for polymer-based sensors due to the corrosiveness of the solvents,” says Lai.
“These structures are so small that you can fit 1,000 of them on the surface of a grain of sand, which is roughly the size of sensors that are used today,” said study co-author Po-Han Huang.
The researchers also demonstrated a technique for printing nanolattices, ultra-small patterns etched onto nanometer-scale surfaces. They are used to manipulate light in precise ways and have potential applications in quantum communication.
Gylfason says the ability to 3D print arbitrary glass structures directly onto the fiber tip opens up new frontiers in photonics. “By bridging the gap between 3D printing and photonics, the implications of this research are far-reaching, with potential applications in microfluidic devices, MEMS accelerometers and fiber-integrated quantum emitters,” he says.
Reference: “3D Printing of Glass Micro-Optics with Subwavelength Features on Fiber Optic Tips” by Lee-Lun Lai, Po-Han Huang, Göran Stemme, Frank Niklaus, and Kristinn B. Gylfason, 29 March 2024. ACS Nano.
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c11030
The study was funded by Sweden Taiwan Research Projects 2019 and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Studies.
