On 3/1/2013 11:33 AM, Warren Smith wrote:
...I am interested in whether one can fabricate complicated shape but ultra-precise structures made of glass. Is there any hope to do that? I want smooth surfaces and accuracy better than 1 micron. If the shapes are 2D (with some constant thickness) would that help?
Warren, Decimeter-scale objects can be 3D printed in glass by commercial providers. But "Multiphoton Lithography" is the only technology I am aware of that might do what you want on a fine scale. It isn't my area, so I don't know if anyone has worked with glass. It is usually polymers, but I can imagine it might be possible to etch a photoresist on glass and use HF or something similar to shape the glass. For a nice micron-scale polymer fractal, see: http://momath.org/home/math-monday-microscopic-fractals/ George http://georgehart.com/