The influences of the material properties on ceramic micro-stereolithography

Micro-stereolithography (μSL) was recently introduced in the fabrication of complex 3D ceramic microstructures. Light scattering is found to be the key factor influencing the micro-stereolithography of ceramics. In this work, numerical simulation based on the Monte-Carlo ray tracing method has been developed to investigate the influences of the important materials properties on the ceramic micro-stereolithography. It is found that the scattering are strongest when size of the ceramic powders approaches to the laser wavelength (0.3 μm). It also found that the higher the refractive index contrast between the particle and the solution, the stronger the light scattering. High laser intensity is required to fabricate high UV absorption ceramic materials to compensate the laser energy absorbed by the ceramic particle. μSL from three typical ceramic powders are examined by numerical model. The numerical model have been demonstrated as an efficient tool to optimize the micro-stereolithography process.