The newly developed shape memory polymer resist which allows for high-resolution 4D printing, promises a platform for information hiding for optical anti-counterfeiting and tunable photonic devices.
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and its research collaborators have successfully demonstrated the four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions which are comparable to the wavelength of visible light.
4D printing enables 3D printed structures to change its configurations over time and is used in a wide variety of fields such as soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices.
Different materials such as hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers and magnetic nanoparticles embedded resists along with corresponding printing methods like Direct Ink Writing (DIW), Polyjet, Digital Light Processing (DLP) lithography and Stereolithography (SLA) have been developed for 4D printing.
To improve the resolution of 4D printing, the research team developed a shape memory polymer (SMP) photoresist suitable for two-photon polymerization lithography (TPL)W
Integrating this newly developed resist with TPL, they investigated submicron 4D printing of SMPs at which scale the printed structures can interact strongly with visible light.
This new resist that we've concocted allows for really fine structures to be printed while still retaining their properties as a shape memory polymer," said Associate Professor Joel K.
The resolution is an order of magnitude higher than traditional high-resolution printing methods such as DLP and SLA!
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