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Title: 3D Printed Optical Quality Silica and Silica-Titania Glasses from Sol-Gel Feedstocks

Journal Article · · Advanced Materials Technologies

Abstract A method for fabricating optical quality silica and silica–titania glasses by three‐dimensional (3D) printing is reported. Key to this success is the combination of sol–gel derived silica and silica–titania colloidal feedstocks, direct ink writing (DIW) technology, and conventional glass thermal processing methods. Printable silica and silica–titania sol inks are prepared directly from molecular precursors by a simple one‐pot method, which is optimized to yield viscous, shear‐thinning colloidal suspensions with tuned rheology ideal for DIW. After printing, the parts are dried and sintered under optimized thermal conditions to ensure complete organic removal and uniform densification without crystallization. Characterizations of the 3D‐printed pure silica and silica–titania glasses show that they are equivalent to commercial optical fused silica and silica–titania glasses. More specifically, they exhibit comparable chemical composition, SiO 2 network structure, refractive index, dispersion, optical transmission, and coefficient of thermal expansion. 3D‐printed silica and silica–titania glasses also exhibit comparable polished surface roughness and meet refractive index homogeneity standards within range of commercial optical grade glasses. This method establishes 3D printing as a viable tool to create optical glasses with compositional and geometric configurations that are inaccessible by conventional optical fabrication methods.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1491643
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1416399
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-737841; 890806
Journal Information:
Advanced Materials Technologies, Vol. 3, Issue 6; ISSN 2365-709X
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (10)

A New Approach to 3D Printing Dense Ceramics by Ceramic Precursor Binders journal August 2019
High‐Performance Materials for 3D Printing in Chemical Synthesis Applications journal February 2019
Rolled‐up Nanotechnology: Materials Issue and Geometry Capability journal December 2018
3D Printing of Compositional Gradients Using the Microfluidic Circuit Analogy journal November 2019
Freeform Microfluidic Networks Encapsulated in Laser‐Printed 3D Macroscale Glass Objects journal December 2019
Additive Manufacturing: Applications and Directions in Photonics and Optoelectronics journal September 2018
Three-dimensional printing of multicomponent glasses using phase-separating resins journal November 2019
Chemical analysis using 3D printed glass microfluidics journal January 2019
Silica optical fiber drawn from 3D printed preforms journal January 2019
High-Performance Materials for 3D Printing in Chemical Synthesis Applications text January 2019

Figures / Tables (10)


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