4-WAVE-MIXING STUDIES OF UV CURABLE RESINS FOR MICROSTEREOLITHOGRAPHY

The optical characteristics of three commercial UV curable resins are investigated using non-degenerate four-wave mixing. The materials asse ssed are an acrylate and two epoxy resins. The holographic gratings we re written at a wavelength of lambda = 351.1 nm for an irradiance rang e 0.5-3.0 W/cm(2) and read at lambda = 632.8 nm in order to compare th e reactivity, curing speed, shrinkage and resolution of the resins. Th ese experiments were carried out to prove the suitability of the photo polymerisation systems for microstereolithography. (C) 1998 Elsevier S cience S.A. All rights reserved.