Continuous-Wave Diodes Shrink Size, Cost of 3D Laser Printers
KARLSRUHE, Germany, Jan. 3, 2022 — Compact desktop printers could soon take the place of big, expensive laser printers for printing 3D micro- and nanostructures. A two-step 3D printing process, invented by researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Heidelberg University, works with blue laser diodes and can be implemented on small, inexpensive printers. Pulsed laser systems have been used for 3D printing because they support two-photon absorption — that is, the simultaneous absorption of two photons