US 11,745,427 B2
Hybrid additive-subtractive laser fabrication platform for shaping hydrogels
Pranav Soman, Liverpool, NY (US); Puskal Kunwar, Syracuse, NY (US); and Zheng Xiong, Syracuse, NY (US)
Assigned to SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, Syracuse, NY (US)
Filed by Pranav Soman, Liverpool, NY (US); Puskal Kunwar, Syracuse, NY (US); and Zheng Xiong, Syracuse, NY (US)
Filed on Feb. 17, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/673,874.
Application 17/673,874 is a continuation of application No. 16/973,235, granted, now 11,260,596, previously published as PCT/US2019/041290, filed on Jul. 11, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/696,551, filed on Jul. 11, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0168955 A1, Jun. 2, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B29C 64/135 (2017.01); B29C 64/277 (2017.01); G02F 1/37 (2006.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 70/00 (2020.01)
CPC B29C 64/277 (2017.08) [B29C 64/135 (2017.08); G02F 1/372 (2021.01); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 70/00 (2014.12)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for forming a structure from a polymer, comprising:
a stage having a sample holder for holding a prepolymer solution and a window formed through the sample holder;
a femtosecond laser source capable of emitting a plurality of laser pulses having a first predetermined wavelength;
a second harmonic generator aligned with the femtosecond laser source to generate a second predetermined wavelength for a first portion of the plurality of the laser pulses;
a digital micro-mirror device aligned with the second harmonic generator and the window of the stage to spatially modulate ultraviolet wavelength pulses according to a first predetermined pattern so that the prepolymer solution is cross-linked into a layer of a polymer according to the first predetermined pattern; and
an objective lens aligned with the femtosecond laser source and the window of the stage to allow a second portion of the laser pulses having the first predetermined wavelength to ablate a plurality of voids in any layer of the polymer that forms in the sample holder.