A method to form a three-dimensional photonic crystal template with a gradient structure involves irradiating a photoresist composition of a thickness of at least 15 μm from at least four laser beams to yield a periodic patterned with a percolating matrix of mass in constructive volumes of a cured photoresist composition and destructive volumes of voids free of condensed matter where the proportion of constructive volume displays a gradient from the irradiated surface to the substrate after development. For a given light intensity, photoinitiator concentration in the photoresist composition, and a given thickness, by irradiating for a relatively short period, a three-dimensional photonic crystal template displaying a gradient having greater constructive volume proximal the air interface forms and a relatively long irradiation period results in a gradient having greater constructive volume proximal the substrate.

A multi-beam volumetric resin curing system and method for whole-volume additive manufacturing of an object includes a bath containing a photosensitive resin, a light source for producing a light beam, and a spatial light modulator which produces a phase- or intensity-modulated light beam by impressing a phase profile or intensity profile of an image onto a light beam received from the light source. The system and method also include projection optics which then produces multiple sub-image beams from the modulated light beam which are projected to intersect each other in the photosensitive resin to cure select volumetric regions of the resin in a whole-volume three-dimensional pattern representing the object.

A method for manufacturing a radial or azimuthal polarization conversion component comprises the steps of: placing a holographic recording material between two right-angle prisms, wherein the holographic recording material is divided into at least four sector-shaped areas and is partially shielded, and only one of the sector-shaped areas is exposed each time; allowing a recording light to pass through the right-angle prisms and the exposed sector-shaped area of the holographic recording material and to interfere with a reflected object light on the holographic recording material; rotating the holographic recording material to expose the other sector-shaped areas one by one to be constructed for manufacturing volume holograms with diffraction angles of 48.19 degrees, 60 degrees or about 85 degrees.

A printing device (106) includes a laser source and a LCOS-SLM (Liquid Crystal on Silicon Spatial Light Modulator). The printing device generates a laser control signal and a LCOS-SLM control signal. The laser source (110) generates a plurality of incident laser beams based on the laser control signal. The LCOS-SLM (112) receives the plurality of incident laser beams, modulates the plurality of incident laser beams based on the LCOS-SLM control signal to generate a plurality of holographic wavefronts (214,216) from the modulated plurality of incident laser beams. Each holographic wavefront forms at least one corresponding focal point. The printing device cures a surface layer or sub-surface layer (406) of a target material (206) at interference points of focal points of the plurality of holographic wavefronts. The cured surface layer of the target material forms a three-dimensional printed content.

A method of fabricating a component (1) comprises the steps of providing precursor material in a working medium, creating acoustic forces and positioning the precursor material in the working medium under the effect of the acoustic forces, so that a material distribution is formed, which has a shape of the component to be fabricated, and subjecting at least one of the material distribution and the working medium to a fixation, so that the precursor material of the material distribution or the working medium surrounding the material distribution is bound, wherein the step of creating the acoustic forces includes generating an acoustic interference pattern (5), and the material distribution (4) is formed by moving the precursor material (2) towards energy extrema of the acoustic interference pattern (5). Furthermore, an apparatus (100) for fabricating a component (1) is described.

A method for producing micro-optics on surface-emitting laser diodes. In a wafer-level operation, the micro-optics are preferably positioned directly on the VCSEL's forming, in each instance, a part of a coherent wafer.

A laser processing apparatus includes a spatial light modulator for inputting laser light output from a laser light source and outputting laser light after phase modulation by a hologram, and a control unit for presenting, on the spatial light modulator, the hologram for focusing the laser light after the phase modulation output from the spatial light modulator on a plurality of irradiation points in a processing object by a focusing optical system. The control unit controls light intensities of at least two irradiation points included in the plurality of irradiation points independently of each other.

An optical observation system includes a spatial light modulator displaying a Fresnel type kinoform on a phase modulation plane, and modulating light L1 in phase to irradiate an observation object with modulated light L2, an imaging optical system imaging observation target light L3 from the observation object, an optical system moving mechanism moving the imaging optical system in an optical axis direction of the observation target light L3, and a control section controlling the optical system moving mechanism such that the focal position of the imaging optical system changes in response to a change in the light condensing position of the modulated light L2 by the Fresnel type kinoform.

A method of fabricating a component (1) comprises the steps of providing precursor material in a working medium, creating acoustic forces and positioning the precursor material in the working medium under the effect of the acoustic forces, so that a material distribution is formed, which has a shape of the component to be fabricated, and subjecting at least one of the material distribution and the working medium to a fixation, so that the precursor material of the material distribution or the working medium surrounding the material distribution is bound, wherein the step of creating the acoustic forces includes generating an acoustic interference pattern (5), and the material distribution (4) is formed by moving the precursor material (2) towards energy extrema of the acoustic interference pattern (5). Furthermore, an apparatus (100) for fabricating a component (1) is described.

An apparatus includes a precursor dispenser for dispensing a precursor material into a workspace, one or more acoustic sources configured to direct acoustic waves towards the workspace to provide acoustic fields that arrange the precursor material in a three-dimensional shape in the workspace, one or more sensors configured to detect a distribution of the precursor material in the workspace, and an electronic controller in communication with the precursor dispenser, the one or more acoustic sources, and the one or more sensors, the electronic controller being programmed to cause the one or more acoustic sources to adjust the acoustic fields to reduce deviations in the distribution of the precursor material from the three-dimensional shape in the workspace.