Joerg Smolenski | Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG: Can 3D-printed polymer micro-optics survive standard reflow, damp heat, and mechanical shock while holding fiber coupling losses at 0.5 dB?
09:59 - 11:41
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Summary of the clip:
Can 3D-printed polymer micro-optics survive standard reflow, damp heat, and mechanical shock while holding fiber coupling losses at 0.5 dB?
The printed optic on fiber is only useful if light enters efficiently. In-coupling losses from LED to fiber matter. The reported measurement uses single-mode 1550, not LED light, but the lens and shape can be adapted. The in-coupling loss can go down to 0.5 dB, which is presented as an advantage of this approach.
One enabler is the resin set. You want reproducible, reliable materials and different refractive indices. A full set of resins is available. IPX clear is highlighted as highly transparent from 400 nanometer to more than one micron, with transmission data shown. That makes it the best choice for visible and white-light optics.
Material reliability is equally important. Tests were done for Telcordia, with temperature conditions similar or less demanding. Temperature cycling, damp heat, standard reflow, and even mechanical shock for passive elements were applied. All tested resins passed, so polymer can be reliable. Some tests have not been done, so the remaining qualification depends on the specific case.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Single-mode 1550 fiber coupling can be adapted to reach 0.5 dB in-coupling loss.
* IPX clear resin transmits from 400 nanometer to more than one micron and suits visible/white-light optics.
* Temperature cycling, damp heat, standard reflow, and mechanical shock were passed for passive elements across tested resins, with some tests still open.
📋 **Clip Abstract** The clip covers printed polymer micro-optics for fiber coupling, reporting in-coupling losses down to 0.5 dB with adapted lens shape from a single-mode 1550 baseline. It then details IPX clear resin transparency from 400 nanometer to over one micron and reliability data from temperature cycling, damp heat, standard reflow, and mechanical shock, all passed for passive elements across tested resins.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Joerg Smolenski
* Company: Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#IPXClearResin, #DampHeatTesting, #StandardReflow, #FiberCouplingLoss, #PolymerMicroOptics, #OpticalInterconnects
This is a highlight of the presentation:
From Micro-Optics to Optical Interconnects: Enabling Scalable µLED Integration
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04:07 - 05:43
How does two-photon polymerization combined with grayscale lithography achieve sub-micron features while printing up to 100 times faster?
How does two-photon polymerization combined with grayscale lithography achieve sub-micron features while printing up to 100 times faster?
The process is two-photon polymerization: two photons must meet at the beam centre before absorption can occur. An infrared femtosecond laser system sends light via gallium mirrors through a microscope objective, with different resolutions available. The beam then reaches the substrate and prints with high resolution inside a provided resin; multiple resins are available. This forms the basis for printing precise micro-optics inside the material.
On resolution, the scientific demonstration reached 160 nanometers, while industry uses sub-1 micron, and feature size is something to keep in mind. Grayscale lithography was added to the process, allowing the voxel size to be tuned. It is therefore not only determined by the microscope objective. That lets the system print optics or any flexible shape very smoothly.
Grayscale lithography also delivers speed: printing can be 10 to 100 times faster than previously. The process was introduced in 2019, and is now in its fourth evolution, with a lot of speed gained every time. A classical 3D benchmark, the Benchy, shows what this approach can produce. Further speed details were to follow on a later slide.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Two-photon polymerization uses an infrared femtosecond laser, gallium mirrors and a microscope objective to print inside resin on a substrate.
* Scientific resolution has reached 160 nanometers, while industry targets sub-1 micron, and feature size is a key consideration.
* Adding grayscale lithography tunes the voxel size independently of the microscope objective, enabling smooth optics and flexible shapes at 10 to 100 times faster printing, now in its fourth evolution since 2019.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Two-photon polymerization prints high-resolution features inside resin using an infrared femtosecond laser routed by gallium mirrors through a microscope objective, with scientific resolution down to 160 nanometers and industry sub-1 micron. Adding grayscale lithography tunes voxel size beyond the objective alone, enabling smooth optics or flexible shapes and printing 10 to 100 times faster, now in a fourth process evolution introduced in 2019.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Joerg Smolenski
* Company: Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#TwoPhotonPolymerization, #GrayscaleLithography, #FemtosecondLaser, #SubMicronFeatures, #MicroOptics, #Microfabrication
12:35 - 13:59
How does multifoci 2GL sustain a yearly 2x increase in voxels-per-second print rate?
How does multifoci 2GL sustain a yearly 2x increase in voxels-per-second print rate?
The scalability baseline is measured in voxels per second, a KPI drawn from scientific publications and restricted to 2PP data from scientific and commercial sources. Starting in 2008 at a very low print rate, the curve follows an average two-times increase every year. This long-term trend, not a single tool generation, defines the production roadmap from early laboratory demonstrations toward higher-throughput additive manufacturing.
In 2019, the 2GL Grayscale approach was introduced, shifting the baseline. At Photonics West at the beginning of this year, multifoci 2GL arrived, using five, three and ten foci to double or linearly enhance print time. That parallelism aims to keep the two-times yearly increase, though some years deliver more and some less. The multifoci path is the lever for sustained throughput.
The workflow spans prototyping, mastering and manufacturing, so the same platform carries a design from initial proof to scalable production. That end-to-end claim matters because throughput gains only pay off if the process chain remains intact. Multifoci 2GL is thus positioned not as a laboratory curiosity but as the production bridge, connecting voxel-per-second improvements to real parts, masters and final manufacturing steps.
In this short video, you can learn:
* 2PP voxel-per-second data show a two-times annual print-rate increase from a 2008 baseline.
* Multifoci 2GL uses five, three or ten foci to double or linearly enhance print time.
* The same platform covers prototyping, masters and manufacturing for scalable production.
📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip traces 2PP print-rate scaling from 2008, where voxels per second rose roughly two times each year. It then details 2019 2GL Grayscale and the newer multifoci 2GL with five, three and ten foci, which doubles or linearly enhances print time to sustain that yearly gain across prototyping, masters and manufacturing.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Joerg Smolenski
* Company: Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#2GL, #Multifoci2GL, #Grayscale2GL, #2PP, #Microfabrication, #ScalableProduction
06:46 - 09:09
What surface roughness, alignment precision, and throughput can 3D-printed micro-optics reach on wafer-level substrates?
What surface roughness, alignment precision, and throughput can 3D-printed micro-optics reach on wafer-level substrates?
Printed polymer micro-optics reach typical optical surface roughness of five nanometres and shape accuracy of two hundred nanometres. Multiple levels of lenses with diffractive elements, facing downwards or upwards, print in one go. Most spec sheets are written for glass, which can easily do one nanometre, but five to ten nanometres is enough for most applications. It can print on rough surfaces, endoscope optics, fibers, chips, LED arrays and wafer-level substrates.
Scalability spans prototypes, single parts, small series and mass production. A recent eight-inch wafer print produced seven thousand two hundred lenses over a weekend, a fifty-hour job, equivalent to nine hundred dice. That suits mastering or small-series prototypes for a customer. For this type of design, throughput is roughly ten seconds per lens, but it can be longer depending on requirements. Printing on fibers, chips and LED arrays is supported.
Alignment of two fiducials can reach one hundred, two hundred and fifty, or five hundred nanometres, depending on the speed and precision required. The flexible system moves from prototyping small series to mass production. The next step after lens printing is mastering, as shown in an example with EVG. These precision and throughput trade-offs define what can be achieved when 3D printing micro-optics directly on wafer-level substrates, chips, fibers and LED arrays.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Printed polymer micro-optics achieve five-nanometre surface roughness and two-hundred-nanometre shape accuracy, though glass can reach one nanometre.
* An eight-inch wafer run printed seven thousand two hundred lenses in fifty hours, giving nine hundred dice for mastering or small-series prototypes.
* Fiducial alignment reaches one hundred, two hundred and fifty, or five hundred nanometres, with roughly ten seconds per lens depending on speed and precision needs.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Printed polymer micro-optics from endoscope optics to wafer-level lens arrays achieve five-nanometre surface roughness, two-hundred-nanometre shape accuracy, and fiducial alignment down to one hundred nanometres. Throughput spans ten seconds per lens up to fifty-hour eight-inch wafer runs producing seven thousand two hundred lenses, moving from prototyping to mastering with partners such as EVG.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Joerg Smolenski
* Company: Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#PolymerMicroOptics, #FiducialAlignment, #WaferLevelPrinting, #DiffractiveElements, #MicroLEDIntegration, #OpticalInterconnects