3D printing glass micro-objectives for ultrathin endoscope

摘要 我们建议开发用于内窥镜的玻璃显微物镜和显微光学器件的3D打印技术 以满足在癌症成像中开发紧凑型内窥镜的日益增长的需求。的首要挑战 在研制微物镜的过程中，传统的制作方法已不具备足够的能力 制造微型光学器件。GRIN透镜是唯一可商购的显微物镜，但是它具有许多缺点。 局限性，如窄的工作光谱和非常短的工作距离。3D打印技术已经 最近开发的双光子聚合（TPP）工艺打印聚合物微物镜。然而，在这方面， 印刷聚合物光学器件存在一些固有的局限性，包括由于微黄色、低密度而导致的寿命短 在UV和NIR光谱中的透射率，以及在硬度、耐热性和耐化学性方面的限制。 玻璃光学器件由于其优异的光学、化学和热性能而优选用于临床应用。 为满足日益增长的内窥镜用高精度玻璃微光学器件的需求， 针对当前3D打印光学器件的局限性，我们开发了一种无溶剂、预冷凝的液体硅树脂（LSR） 以及玻璃光学器件的双光子3D打印工艺。具有各向同性收缩的玻璃微光学器件的3D打印， 微米分辨率、低偏差峰谷值（<100 nm）和低表面粗糙度（< 6 nm）， 办妥了一批多年想无溶剂、UV可固化LSR，大部分已形成共价键 （Si-O-Si）是新颖的，其显著降低了材料收缩，提高了印刷速度，并且简化了印刷工艺。 获得无机二氧化硅的方法。印刷的玻璃微光学器件具有更好的成像性能， 更高的分辨率、更宽的工作光谱、更好的UV到NIR透射率和更长的使用寿命。的3D 用于微玻璃物镜的印刷工艺是新颖的，因为它可以制造更复杂的光学系统， 特别适合于低成本快速成型。 该项目的目标是开发3D打印的玻璃微物镜和微光学器件，用于超紧凑 内窥镜我们将首先优化预压缩LSR（目标1），然后打印微目标并评估 性能（目标2）。 该项目意义重大，因为它将建立一种新的3D打印技术，用于制造急需的 用于癌症成像的内窥镜的玻璃显微物镜和显微光学器件。低成本的快速成型能力 成本将加速先进成像技术从实验室到临床应用的快速过渡。

Abstract We propose to develop 3D printing technology of glass micro-objective and micro optics for ultrathin endoscope to address the increasing demand in developing compact endoscopes in cancer imaging. The primary challenge in developing micro-objective is the fabrication, traditional fabrication methods don’t have sufficient capabilities in fabricating micro optics. GRIN lens is the only commercially available micro-objective, but it has a number of limitations, such as narrow working spectrum and very short working distance. 3D printing process has been developed recently to print polymer micro-objective with two-photon polymerization (TPP) process. However, there are some inherent limitations in printed polymer optics, including short lifetime due to the yellowish, low transmission in UV and NIR spectrum, and limitations in hardness, thermal resistance, and chemical resistance. Glass optics is preferred for clinical application because of its excellent optical, chemical, and thermal properties. To meet the increasing needs of high-precision glass micro-optics for endoscope and address the major limitations of current 3D printing optics, we have developed a solvent-free, pre-condensed liquid silica resin (LSR) and two-photon 3D printing process for glass optics. 3D printing of glass micro-optics with isotropic shrinkage, micrometer resolution, low deviation peak-to-valley value (<100 nm), and low surface roughness (< 6 nm) has been achieved. The solvent-free, UV curable LSR with a majority of the already formed covalent bonds (Si-O-Si) is novel that it significantly reduces the material shrinkage, increases the printing speed, and simplifies the process to obtain inorganic silica. The printed glass micro optics has better imaging performance with higher resolution, wider working spectrum, better transmission from UV to NIR, and longer lifetime. The 3D printing process for micro glass objective is novel in that it can fabricate more complex optical systems and is particularly suitable for rapid prototyping at low-cost. The goal of this project is to develop 3D printed glass micro-objective and micro optics for ultra-compact endoscope. We will first optimize pre-condensed LSR (Aim 1), and then print micro-objectives and evaluate the performance (Aim 2). This project is significant in that it will establish a new 3D printing technology for fabricating the much-needed glass micro-objective and micro-optics for endoscope in cancer imaging. The rapid prototyping capability at low cost will accelerate the rapid transition of the advanced imaging technologies from the lab to clinical applications.