Photocurable 3D Printing of Fluorescent Quartz Glass: Customizable Shaping and Information Encryption Applications

To address the issue that traditional glass processing technologies struggle to achieve complex structural forming and precise doping of functional elements, this study employed vat photopolymerization (VPP) additive manufacturing technology to fabricate quartz glass with high-quality mechanical and optical properties. Moreover, doping was performed on the glass slurry, enabling the conversion of quartz glass into ultraviolet-excited luminescent glass. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on process optimization, microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties, and fluorescence performance. By optimizing the rheological properties of the photocurable slurry containing 58 wt% SiO 2 and the vacuum sintering process (sintered at 1240°C), highly dense amorphous glass was successfully prepared, which exhibited a light transmittance of >80%, a Vickers hardness of 758.2 HV, and a relative density of >99.9%. A specific doping method was designed to achieve the controllable doping of Ce 3+ ions. Under natural light, the doped and undoped regions are indistinguishable. Using this technology, luminescent glass with controllable doped regions was fabricated. This technology demonstrates the capability of photoluminescent site-selective doping and exhibits differentiated optical responses under visible light and ultraviolet light, thereby providing a customizable solution for next-generation information encryption materials.