Archimedes micro-screws have been fabricated by three-dimensional two-photon polymerization using a Nd:YAG Q-switched microchip laser at 532nm. Due to their small sizes they can be easily manipulated, and made to rotate using low power optical tweezers. Rotation rates up to 40 Hz are obtained with a laser power of 200 mW, i.e. 0.2 Hz/mW. A photo-driven micropump action in a microfluidic channel is demonstrated with a non-optimized flow rate of 6 pL/min. The optofluidic properties of such type of Archimedes micro-screws are quantitatively described by the conservation of momentum that occurs when the laser photons are reflected on the helical micro-screw surface.
Two-photon polymerization enables the extremely high resolution three-dimensional printing of micro-structures. To know the mechanical properties, and better still, to be able to adjust them is of paramount importance to ensuring the proper structural integrity of the printed products. In this work, the Young’s modulus is measured on two-photon polymerized micro-cantilever bars. Optimizing the scanning trajectory of the laser focus points is important in alleviating distortion of the printed bars. By increasing the laser power and decreasing the inter-voxel distances we can double the Young’s modulus. Post-curing with ultraviolet light can approximately quadruple the Young’s modulus. However, the resulting modulus is still only about 0.3% of that of the bulk polymerized material.
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