3D printed active optical components: harnessing photo-responsive molecules for dynamic light modulation

Abstract Integrating photo-responsive function into 3D printed materials might enable optical modulation of linear and nonlinear properties in complex shapes with unequalled performance. However, these features have been largely limited to planar configurations such as thin films, constraining their use in complex photonic architectures. This work introduces 3D-printable materials exhibiting dynamically tunable birefringence via incident light intensity and polarization. An azobenzene-based system processed through vat photopolymerization achieves photoinduced birefringence up to 2.5 × 10 − 4 , with decoupled thresholds for optical response, matrix curing, and molecular degradation. This decoupling allows broad flexibility in fabrication parameter space. A UV dose window is identified in which nonlinear optical characteristics are maintained. The fabricated 3D structures demonstrate functionality in laser beam intensity modulation and polarization control, maintaining stable performance over 6 × 10 4 operational cycles. These results highlight the potential of non-planar, photo-tunable, 3D-printed photonic materials for reconfigurable optical networks, all-optical logic devices, and next-generation architectures in augmented and virtual reality systems.