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To meet the increasing needs of high-precision glass micro-optics and address the major limitations of current three-dimensional (3D) printing optics, we have developed a liquid, solvent-free, silica precursor and two-photon 3D printing process. The printed optical elements can be fully converted to transparent inorganic glass at temperatures as low as 600 C with a shrinkage rate of 17%. We have demonstrated the whole process, from material development, printing, and performance evaluation of the printed glass micro-optics. 3D printing of glass micro-optics with isotropic shrinkage, micrometer resolution, low peak-to-valley deviation (<100nm), and low surface roughness (<6nm) has been achieved. The reported technique will enable the rapid prototyping of complex glass micro-optics previously impossible using conventional glass optics fabrication processes.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has evolved tremendously in recent years, but due to stringent requirements on surface finish and limited material selection for optical performance purposes, 3D printing optics is still lagging behind. This paper reports on a quantitative study on the printing process of optical lenses using acrylic and cationic combined commercial hybrid material. By utilizing its unique curing property with digital light process technology, we demonstrate the concept of continuous printing in the top-down light projection setup. Also, an equal thickness and equal arc combo method has been proposed and evaluated to further help smooth the surface finish. Millimeter-level spherical lenses have been successfully fabricated, and their optical performance has also been discussed.