PhD Defence Cristian Rosero Arias | 3D Luminescent Ceramics by Two-Photon Lithography

3D Luminescent Ceramics by Two-Photon Lithography

Cristian Rosero Arias is a PhD student in the department Mesoscale Chemical Systems. (Co)Promotors are prof.dr. J.G.E. Gardeniers and dr. A. Susarrey Arce from the Faculty Science & Technology (TNW), University of Twente and dr. H. Aguirre Soto from the Monterrey University of Mexico.

Microscale additive manufacturing is reshaping optical design by enabling architected, high refractive-index ceramic structures in three dimensions. This thesis advances two-photon lithography (TPL) for printing lanthanide-doped oxide microarchitectures and develops spectroscopy-guided design rules linking processing, structure, and optical response.A metal–organic photoresin yields lanthanide-doped tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO₂); crystallinity is identified as the key lever for emission, with annealing at ∼750 °C activating Yb³⁺, Er³⁺, and Tm³⁺ transitions across IR, visible, and NIR. Dopant/defect co-engineering and tetragonal–monoclinic phase control enhance Er³⁺ emission. A rapid thermal treatment accelerates polymer-to-ceramic conversion while preserving 3D fidelity. Beyond zirconia, Eu-doped SrZrO₃ perovskite microarchitectures show room-temperature magnetic- and electric-dipole emissions of comparable intensity, attributed to oxygen-vacancy–induced symmetry breaking.The work establishes design rules for 3D-printed ceramic micro-optics and positions multi-material TPL as a key enabler of scalable, tunable micro-optical and micro-magneto-optical systems.