Two Photon Polymerization 3D Nanofabrication System for Interdisciplinary Applications including Energy Storage, Photonics, Sensors, and Biomedical Structures
Abstract
An interdisciplinary team of 11 researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is seeking to procure a two-photon polymerization (2PP) 3D printer, to enable nanoscale manufacturing that can expand innovative research, enhance student training, and better address DoD research and needs for the upcoming decade. While conventional additive manufacturing (AM) processes allows printing of intricate architectures down to about 50µm layer thicknesses, the two-photon polymerization (2PP) 3D printing technique enables fabrication of nanoscale architectures thanks to its ultrashort laser pulses per-formed within a photopolymerizable resin. This resolution enables new areas of research currently not possible with AM at UTEP, and seeks to address the emerging and future needs of the Department of Defense (DoD). 2PP has recently been employed in biomedical (tissue engineering, drug delivery, medical implants), photonics, robotics, and electronics (MEMS & sensors) fields, demonstrating its applicability to a wide array of research disciplines, enabling it to offer new capabilities to a multitude of researchers at UTEP, as well as to collaborators worldwide. The University of Texas at El Paso is an R1 national Research University with a majority Hispanic student population in the University of Texas System; UTEP maintains a strong commitment to providing access, opportunity and excellence to students in the El Paso region at the far western tip of Texas. The acquisition of this system, compliments existing strengths and capabilities at the university, while filling a much needed nanofabrication capability that will better allow researchers to advance the cutting edge, while training and inspiring future generations of STEM experts. In the research domain, the 2PP system will allow for the exploration of fundamentally new concepts including nanofabricated spatially-variant photonic crystals, fully 3D printed batteries, 3D nanostructured biosensors, and 3D nanofabricated micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The system will also allow for the investigation of new printed materials, including shape memory polymers, and ceramics. The system also provides a new avenue for collaboration for our faculty, on and off campus. Applications of this research will have widespread impact in low-cost and wearable sensors, energy storage, higher performance robotics, photonics, unmanned systems, microwave devices, biomedical systems, electronics cooling, and high performance electronic devices for all DoD branches. In the education and outreach domains, the presence of this tool on campus will allow for its integration into the teaching of our STEM students, both as part of their curriculum, and through independent projects. Local K-12 students will have the opportunity to learn about 2PP technology and the state of the art when visiting campus, to inspire their educational journey. The proposed tool will expand UTEPÕs excellence in additive manufacturing and will train our students (majority Hispanic) to become technological leaders in these emerging fields, to meet the domestic and strategic needs of the 21st Century.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 02, 2022
- Source ID
- W911NF2210206
Entities
People
- Robert Roberts
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of Texas at El Paso