Yoshi Arita - Photopolymerisation with structured light: new directions in direct laser writing

Direct laser writing (DLW) by two-photon polymerisation is a well-established technique for printing three-dimensional structures with a sub-micrometre resolution by scanning a tightly focused laser beam along a predefined path [1]. Virtually all DLW relies on the point scanning approach, with little to no consideration for shaping the incident light field with phase, amplitude and polarisation control.

This talk will describe emergent studies in photopolymerisation using structured light for writing novel mesoscopic structures. This can include optical vortex with helical wavefronts possessing orbital angular momentum [2], Bessel and Airy light beams with propagation-invariant properties [3]. These light fields form waveguides with spiralling features (helical microfibres). The use of structured light can lead to new photopolymerisation studies in optical micromanipulation and communications.

[1] Fischer, J., & Wegener, M., Laser Photonics Rev. 7, 22 (2013).

[2] Lee, J., Arita, Y., Toyoshima, S., Miyamoto, K., Panagiotopoulos, P., Wright, E., Dholakia, K. & Omatsu, T., ACS Photon. 5, 4156 (2018).

[3] Arita, Y., Lee, J., Kawaguchi, H., Matsuo, R., Miyamoto, K., Dholakia, K., & Omatsu, T., Opt. Lett. 45, 4080 (2020).