Acousto-optic Scanning Spatial-switching Multiphoton Lithography

Abstract Despite of tremendous potential of multiphoton lithography (MPL) in laboratorial and industrial applications, simultaneous achievement of high throughput, high accuracy, high design freedom, and a broad range of material structuring capabilities remains a long-pending challenge. To address the issue, we propose an acousto-optic scanning with spatial-switching multispots (AOSS) method. Inertia-free acousto-optic scanning and nonlinear swept techniques have been developed for achieving ultrahigh-speed and aberration-free scanning. Moreover, a spatial optical switch concept has been implemented to significantly boost the lithography throughput while maintaining high resolution and high design freedom. An eight-foci AOSS system has demonstrated a record-high 3D printing rate of 7.6×10^7 voxel/s, which is nearly one order of magnitude higher than earlier scanning MPL, exhibiting its promise for future scalable 3D nanomanufacturing.