WASHINGTON — Researchers have shown that consumer-grade 3D printers and low-cost materials can be used to produce multi-element optical components that enable super-resolution imaging, with each lens costing less than $1 to produce. The new fabrication approach is poised to broaden access to fully customizable optical parts and could enable completely new types of imaging tools.
"We created optical parts that enable imaging of life's smallest building blocks at a remarkable level of detail," said lead author Jay Christopher from the University of Strathclyde in the UK. "This approach opens the possibility for customized imaging systems and unlocks imaging scenarios that are traditionally either impossible or need costly glass manufacturing services."
In the Optica Publishing Group journal Biomedical Optics Express , the researchers describe their lens design and manufacturing processes, which combine 3D printing, silicone molding and a UV curable clear resin. They used lenslets fabricated with their technique to create a multifocal structured illumination microscope that imaged microtubules in a cell's cytoskeleton with a resolution of around 150 nm.
"Our new approach could empower scientists and companies to access tools previously locked behind specialist technology with high costs," said Christopher. "Using budget-friendly 3D printers and materials, they could manufacture their own components to solve problems they are facing and, in turn, generate unique research and product development solutions."
Inexpensive lenses for advanced imaging
The research builds upon earlier work in which the investigators showed that consumer-grade 3D printers and materials could be used to create basic lenses identical to factory-produced optics. These lenses, amongst others, were used to produce a fully 3D printed microscope.
"With consumer-grade 3D printing technologies becoming more sophisticated and precise every year, our ambitions grew from seeing whether 3D printed lenses could be used for biological imaging, in general, to just how far 3D printing lenses could really go within the latest advanced imaging concepts," said research team lead Ralf Bauer.
For the new work, the researchers wanted to make inexpensive lenses that could be used in a multifocal structured illumination microscope (SIM). This type of microscope uses patterned light at multiple focal points to illuminate a sample, capturing multiple images that are computationally combined to reveal details smaller than the normal diffraction limit.
To create a high-quality lens for microscopy, the researchers needed to figure out a way to reduce the optical scattering they observed when focusing a laser through a 3D-printed lens. This scattering occurs because the lens is printed layer-by-layer using a pixelated screen, which can lead to unwanted diffraction effects in the lens. They developed a molding method to help eliminate this problem.
Making a laser-friendly lens
The new fabrication approach begins with a typical 3D printing process that involves designing the optic in freely available CAD software and then using a 3D printer to fabricate the design. After some simple processing steps, this produces a 3D printed raw optic. To enhance the clarity and transparency of the lens, the researchers attached more of the 3D printing material to each lens surface to smooth out the thin layers produced by 3D printing. This additive approach, which is much quicker than the traditional approach of polishing, created a custom-designed lens with surfaces smooth enough to compete with commercial-grade glass lenses.
For the multifocal structured illumination microscope, they designed and printed a lenslet array, which is a single optic consisting of many small lenses on the same surface. This optical design makes it possible to create many illumination points in the microscope, speeding the ability to capture tiny details in biological samples.
After printing and refining the lenslet array, the researchers made a silicone mold of it, which they then filled with inexpensive UV-curable clear resin. This created an optical part that didn't suffer from diffraction effects.
The researchers used precision surface measurements to compare their low-cost optics against high-end and budget commercial optics, finding that the 3D-printed lens surfaces matched well with both types of commercial optic surfaces. They then used the 3D printed optical lens array in their lab-prototype multifocal structured illumination microscope, observing super-resolution biological data that was nearly identical in quality to that acquired with commercial glass lens arrays.
Next, the researchers plan to further explore the full design freedom offered by optical 3D printing. For example, the approach could be used to produce multiple focused points in three dimensions, to explore bio-inspired imaging and sensing designs or to combine different materials to make single, affordable components that combine transparent and opaque features for added functionality.
Paper: J. Christopher, L. M. Rooney, C. Butterworth, G. McConnell, R. Bauer, "Low-Cost 3D Printed Optics for Super-Resolution Multifocal Structured Illumination Microscopy," Biomed. Opt. Express, 17, 769-783 (2025).
DOI: 10.1364/BOE.583760
About Optica Publishing Group
Optica Publishing Group is a division of the society, Optica , Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide. It publishes the largest collection of peer-reviewed and most-cited content in optics and photonics, including 19 prestigious journals, the society's flagship member magazine, and papers and videos from over 1200 conferences. With over 505,000 journal articles, conference papers and videos to search, discover and access, its publications portfolio represents the full range of research in the field from around the globe.
About Biomedical Optics Express
