3D printed Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped phosphosilicate glass based on sol-gel technology

We demonstrate a method to manufacture Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped phosphosilicate glass by the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing based on sol-gel technology. The sol-gel technology was used to fabricate the rare earth ions doped photocurable printing ink to achieve excellent fluidity, tunable composition and uniform component distribution. Following photopolymerization of 3D printing, the parts underwent ageing and sintering at 1050 °C, which is much lower than conventional high temperature melting method (~1700 °C). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that rare earth ion doped multicomponent glass has been fabricated by 3D printing based on sol-gel technology. This method combined with fiber drawing technology provides a novel way to fabricate the rare earth ions doped glass fiber.