Physics of Light Propagation in 3D-Printed Transparent Polymers: A VOSviewer Mapping of Global Research

Abstract

Optics through 3D-printed transparent polymers represents an exciting frontier in AM optics, but the world of 3D transparent polymer optics has yet to be explored. In this paper, the authors take a systematic overview of the global scientific and technological research on the physics of light scattering, transmission, and refractive effect in 3D printed optical-grade polymers from simple printed lenses to highly complex integrated photonic components, such as waveguides and biosensors. A mixed-method approach was used, which included systematic literature analysis in Scopus, Web of Science and IEEE Xplore, and bibliometric and co-occurrence keyword mapping with the VOSviewer software. The analysis shows the various optical bottlenecks that have hindered industrial adoption of layer-by-layer fabrication such as high surface roughness values of 30-110mm values ranging from 30-110 mm and refractive index anisotropy. However, there are substantial innovations in terms of manufacturing technologies in the printing of the polymers. Various case studies in the paper investigate how printing parameters, layer thickness, print orientation, photopolymer composition, and curing strategy control the optical anisotropy and the transmission uniformity which are both bottlenecks that need to be mitigated. To contextualize laboratory findings within aerospace and precision optics requirements, quantitative performance metrics including transmission efficiency, scattering loss, and spatial resolution are triangulated against secondary industrial benchmarks sourced from NASA, Statista and McKinsey.
After evaluating the findings we see that multimaterial printing and microstructure engineering are the best ways to minimize optical diffusion and to get silica class performance. This work serves as a bibliometric and physical foundation for advancing integrated photonics fabricated via additive manufacturing.