Generating Microstructures with Highly Variable Mechanical Performance using Two-Photon Lithography and Thiol-ene Photopolymerization

In this study, we investigate the effect of the exposure dose on the mechanical property of the photoresins generated with acrylate self-polymerization and thiol-ene polymerization. The results indicate that the mechanical performance of the thiol-ene photoresin is highly depended on the exposure dose during the solidification process. With 350-fold exposure dose change, the stiffness of the thiol-ene photoresin reached more that 700-fold change compare to 14-fold of the acrylate photoresin. We developed a TPL photoresist based on our results and show the capability to fabricate microstrucutres with high resolution and variable mechanical performances using this method.