One application that 3D printing technology stands to benefit greatly, but still needs a heft amount of research in, is the manufacturing of optics. While companies such asLuxexcel一直在努力用专有的打印过程代替注射模型的光学元件，以及来自University of Sydney are successfully 3D print fiber optics, it’s evident that 3D printing technology is on the brink of revolutionizing the way optics are produced. Though a number of these innovations seem like a pretty big deal, sometimes it’s the (literally) smaller breakthroughs that really shake things up. One group of German researchers, from theUniversity of Stuttgart, have discovered that they could produce micron-scale optics on a 3D printer created with help fromnanoscribe，这是从Karlsrhue Insute of Technology（套件）。
该团队研究的方法称为飞秒激光写作，可以在微米尺度上用于3D打印集成光学器件，这有可能导致最有效的微型光学仪器。激光写作技术通过将光线短的激光脉冲发射到非常精确的区域，从而将光敏材料硬化成3D结构。尽管过去在许多研究实验室中都使用了这种技术，但环境条件和差异使其他研究人员团队始终如一地以高质量的高质量进行3D打印微观攻击。为了减轻此问题，德国研究小组使用了一个两光子3D激光光刻系统，该系统是专门设计用于编写纳米尺寸结构的。
“Although femtosecond laser writing has been demonstrated in the lab, we have shown that it can be used to make high performance micro-optics in a manner that is highly repeatable and reliable,”斯图加特大学的哈拉德·吉森说，领导研究团队。“我们认为，我们的方法可以扩展到体积制造，并用于直接打印几乎所有类型的光学元素，以开放一个新的综合微型和纳米镜时代。”
By achieving sub-micron accuracy with the laser writing process, the University of Stuttgart research team were able to place phase masks on the end of the optical fiber, offering a way to shape the light coming out of the end of a optical fibre without the traditional need for large and bulky lenses. The team experimented with numerous approaches for printing these phase masks, such as layer by layer (from the bottom up) and ring by ring (starting from the center), both of which proved successful in creating high quality optics. By replacing traditionally larger optical lenses with these micro-sized alternatives, this research has the potentially to enhance numerous applications, such as illumination in smaller endoscopes and optical trapping particles or cells. Currently, the team is attempting to use the laser writing system to create a phase mask that will shape the output from optical fiber into a twisted light, which can potentially help with photon entanglement and more. All in all, the German research team have further proven the possibilities of 3D printing with optical lenses, and also proved that sometimes the smaller sized innovations can have the biggest impact.
