Blurring Light to Give Smoother Surfaces

As the boundaries between holography and other 3D imaging technologies become increasingly blurred, we take a look at one technique where it is the light that is blurred to give higher quality 3D printed optical components.

Researchers at the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) have introduced a novel 3D printing technique termed ‘blurred tomography’, which promises to improve the production of microlenses by delivering commercial- grade optical quality rapidly.

Daniel Webber from NRCC explained the core innovation: ‘we purposely added optical blurring to the beams of light used for this 3D printing method to manufacture precision optical components. This enables production of optically smooth surfaces’.

In their recent publication in ‘Optica’¹, the researchers showcased this method by fabricating a millimetre-sized plano- convex optical lens. Remarkably, the lens demonstrated imaging performance on par with commercially available glass lenses. The method also proved its efficiency, producing optical components ready for use within just 30 minutes.