Dual-Wavelength Volumetric Microlithography for Rapid Production of 4D Microstructures

4D microstructured actuators are micro-objects made of stimuli-responsive materials capable of induced shape deformations, with applications ranging from microrobotics to smart micropatterned haptic surfaces. The novel technology dual-wavelength volumetric micro-lithography (DWVML) realizes rapid printing of high-resolution 3D microstructures and so has the potential to pave the way to feasible manufacturing of 4D microdevices. In this work, DWVML is applied for the first time to printing stimuli-responsive materials, namely liquid crystal networks (LCNs). An LCN photoresist is developed and characterized, and large arrays of up to 5625 LCN micropillars with programmable shape changes are produced by means of DWVML in the time span of seconds, over areas as large as ~5.4 mm2. The production rate of 0.3 mm3 h-1 is achieved, exceeding speeds previously reported for additive manufacturing of LCNs by two orders of magnitude. Finally, a membrane with tunable micrometer sized pores is fabricated to illustrate the potential DWVML holds for real-world applications.