TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Glass Components Fabricated via Aerosol Jet Printing
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Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed an innovative additive manufacturing technique for producing micron-scale glass components using aerosol jet printing. This process deposits glass particles suspended in a carrier solution onto substrates in a controlled, layer-by-layer manner, followed by sintering to form dense, monolithic glass structures. Unlike traditional subtractive methods such as grinding and milling, which can be limited by complex geometries and require specialized equipment, this technology offers greater design flexibility and precision without the need for bulk glass melting or extensive post-fabrication machining. The method supports multiple glass compositions and can fabricate complex shapes, including embedded features, directly in their final configuration. This technology has applications across fields requiring high-precision small-scale glass parts, such as micro-optics, photonics, optical waveguides, microfluidics, and packaging platforms. By integrating with existing aerosol jet printing infrastructure, it reduces production complexity and enables new capabilities in compact and intricate device architectures. Currently at Technology Readiness Level 3, the method is patent pending and available for licensing through Los Alamos’ technology transfer program. Interested parties can engage with LANL to explore opportunities for exclusive or non-exclusive licensing to advance commercial innovation using this additive glass fabrication approach.
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Place of Performance
Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USASet-Aside
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Full Description
An additive manufacturing method for micron-scale glass component fabrication
Micron-scale glass components are widely used in optical, photonic, and micro-fabricated systems. These components are commonly produced through grinding, polishing, and milling processes that require tight tolerances and specialized equipment. As device architectures become more compact and geometrically complex, these approaches can constrain design flexibility and integration.
Los Alamos researchers developed an additive manufacturing process that builds glass components layer by layer using aerosol jet printing. Glass particles suspended in an aerosolizable carrier solution are deposited onto a substrate and then sintered to form monolithic glass structures. This approach enables controlled fabrication of small glass features without bulk glass melting or post-fabrication machining.
Value Proposition
This technology enables the fabrication of micron-scale glass components using an additive manufacturing approach. Conventional fabrication methods rely on subtractive machining, which can limit achievable geometries and increase processing complexity at small scales. By depositing glass material directly into its final geometry and sintering it into a dense structure, this method provides an alternative pathway for producing small, high-precision glass features.
Advantages
- Enables additive fabrication of micron-scale glass components
- Reduces reliance on precision subtractive glass machining
- Supports complex geometries and embedded glass features
- Compatible with multiple glass compositions and substrates
- Integrates with existing aerosol jet printing platforms
Technology Description
The method uses aerosol jet printing to deposit fine glass particles or sol-gel-based materials with micron-scale resolution. Deposition conditions are adjusted to build glass features to a specified thickness and geometry. After deposition, the printed material is sintered to remove the carrier and bond the particles into a dense glass component.
Demonstrations show that the process can produce continuous, monolithic glass features on planar substrates. The method supports multiple glass compositions and allows components to be fabricated directly in their final configuration.
Market Applications
This additive glass fabrication method is relevant to technologies that require small, high-precision glass components, including:
- micro-optics and micron-scale lenses
- optical waveguides and photonic interconnects
- optical filters and coatings
- glass-to-metal seals and microfluidic structures
- photonic and optical packaging platforms
These and related applications benefit from increased flexibility in the fabrication of glass features at small scales.
TRL 3
US Patent pending
LA-UR-25-28977
LANL Tech Partnerships: Unlock the Innovative Potential
Los Alamos National Laboratory offers a wide range of cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that may provide your company with a competitive edge in the market and unlock the innovative potential that can enhance, refine, and revolutionize your products.
LANL’s licensing program focuses on moving inventions developed by our researchers to commercial innovations. Patented and patent pending inventions and copyrighted software are available to existing and start-up companies through exclusive and non-exclusive licensing agreements. For specific discussions, please contact licensing@lanl.gov.
Note: This is not a call for external services for the development of this technology.
https://www.lanl.gov/engage/collaboration/feynman-center/partner-with-us/licensing-technology
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