Direct 3D-printing of phosphate glass by fused deposition modeling

Additive manufacturing of oxide glass enables on-demand, low-cost manufacturing of complex optical components for numerous applications, opening new opportunities to explore functionalities inaccessible otherwise. Here, we report a straightforward extrusion-based 3D-printing approach, deploying the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process, to produce optically transparent phosphate glasses with complex geometries and preserved structural and photoluminescence properties. Using a customized entry-level FDM desktop printer with a layer resolution of 100 μm, highly dense and transparent europium-doped phosphate glass structures can be fabricated from glass filaments pulled using a fiber-drawing tower from the parent glass preform. Combined with the suggested strategies for performance and quality improvement, professional-grade FDM printers can offer better layer resolutions. This direct approach for 3D-printing phosphate glass may open up new horizons not only for developing cutting-edge optical components but also for promoting new biomedical solutions upon making use of alternative biocompatible phosphate compositions.