Holographic Measurements of Photopolymers for Microstereolithography Applications

Abstract

In order for a resin to be suitable for stereolithographic applications, it must have a high curing speed, high build resolution and low shrinkage during the liquid to solid polymerisation process. (1). We performed nondegenerate four-wave mixing on two UV curable resins, the DuPont Somos™ 6100 and the Ciba-Geigy Ciba- tool™ SL 5180. Gratings with spatial wavelength Λ=0.3 - 1.1 µm were written using an Argon ion laser operating on the λ0=351.1 nm line and for a range of irradiance 0.5-3 W/cm2. The gratings were then read using a He-Ne laser, operating at 632.8 nm. These experiments were carried out to prove the suitability of the photopoly, nerisation systems for microstereolithography.