Scientists developed a high resolution laser 3D printing method based on nanoparticles

Recently, physicists from the crystallography and phonological research center of the Russian Academy of sciences have developed a new method of 3D printing, which uses special nanoparticles to achieve a previously thought impossible result, with great high resolution potential in the fields of biological printing and electronics.
Many 3D printing technologies, even more advanced, advanced laser based systems (called two-photon lithography), common problems are relatively slow operating speed and poor resolution. When a high level solution is needed, a similar technique may have more complex workflow and a more complex process in design. Less flexibility, but they can usually be executed at a higher level and faster. 3D printing technology creates a structure by layer by layer, and the hardship process is mainly due to slow operation and insufficient resolution.
The breakthrough of Russian researchers is to create a new particle for printing materials. The particle is connected to other particles in a more complex and more dimensional way, which overcomes many limitations of standard two-photon lithography 3D printing technology. The 3D printing technique of two-photon photolithography involves the formation of a specific structure by selective solidification of a resin tank through a high intensity laser. The monomers in the resin are photopolymer by laser. The new nanoparticles of the research team are made of sodium, th, Yb and fluorine, they are so-called upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which consist of two photons. When exposed to light, they will emit more ultraviolet. This energy can be used to polymerize the surrounding particles.
Putting these UCNP into solidified materials means that we can create three dimensional voxels. A point in the target resin material can distribute energy in the thickness of the 3D environment, so as to create the required structure more quickly. The extra energy release means that the much less power near infrared (NIR) laser can get the same results, rather than the more expensive and precise femtosecond lasers used before.
The results are introduced in a paper entitled "high resolution three-dimensional photopolymerization auxiliary upconversion nanoparticles for rapid prototyping applications", which has been published in the "scientific report" Journal.