Pick and place process for uniform shrinking of 3D printed micro- and nano-architected materials

Two-photon polymerization lithography is promising for producing three-dimensional structures with user-defined micro- and nanoscale features. Additionally, shrinkage by thermolysis can readily shorten the lattice constant of three-dimensional photonic crystals and enhance their resolution and mechanical properties; however, this technique suffers from non-uniform shrinkage owing to substrate pinning during heating. Here, we develop a simple method using poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted uniform shrinking of three-dimensional printed structures. Microscopic three-dimensional printed objects are picked and placed onto a receiving substrate, followed by heating to induce shrinkage. We show the successful uniform heat-shrinking of three-dimensional prints with various shapes and sizes, without sacrificial support structures, and observe that the surface properties of the receiving substrate are important factors for uniform shrinking. Moreover, we print a three-dimensional mascot model that is then uniformly shrunk, producing vivid colors from colorless woodpile photonic crystals. The proposed method has significant potential for application in mechanics, optics, and photonics. Three-dimensional structures with micro-/nanoscale features can be produced by two-photon polymerization lithography but suffering from a non-uniform shrinkage. Here, the authors report a poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted pick-and-place process to uniformly heat shrink three-dimensional micro-/nano-architected materials printed by two-photon polymerization lithography.