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Mass production of 3-D microstructures using projection microstereolithography

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Abstract

Microstereolithography (MSL) technology is derived from the conventional stereolithography process and can meet the demands for fabricating complex 3-D microstructures with high resolution. This technology can be divided into scanning and projection methods, which have different levels of precision and fabrication speeds. Scanning MSL fabricates very fine 3-D microstructures by controlling the position of the laser spot on the resin surface. Projection MSL quickly fabricates one layer with one exposure using a mask. In this paper, we propose a projection MSL system with uniform illumination and image formation based on optical design for fabricating microstructure arrays. This system can realize mass production of 3-D microstructures in the meso-range, which falls between micro-and macro-ranges, with a resolution of a few microns. Microstructure arrays were fabricated to verify the performance of the proposed system.

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Correspondence to Seok Hee Lee.

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Ha, Y.M., Choi, J.W. & Lee, S.H. Mass production of 3-D microstructures using projection microstereolithography. J Mech Sci Technol 22, 514–521 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-007-1031-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-007-1031-8

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