https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10114-5

https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0213/c90000-20426045.html

A new high-speed 3D printing technology capable achieves high-resolution printing of millimeter-scale complex objects in just 0.6 seconds.

A team around academician Dai Qionghai at Tsinghua University has discovered that computational optics can not only capture light field information but also manipulate high-dimensional holographic light fields to construct three-dimensional entities, offering a novel approach to improving 3D printing. This led them to develop the digital incoherent synthesis of holographic light fields (DISH) 3D printing technology.

Experiments show that this technology can complete the fabrication of millimeter-scale complex structures in just 0.6 seconds, achieving a minimum printable structure size of 12 micrometers and a printing rate of up to 333 cubic millimeters per second.

An advantage of this technology is its minimal requirement for the printing container, needing only a single optical flat surface without any special structural design. Moreover, the container remains stationary throughout the printing process without the need for high-precision relative motion between the container and the probe, as required by traditional methods.

According to Dai, the DISH technology could be applied in the mass production of micro-components such as photonic computing devices and mobile phone camera modules, and parts with sharp angles and complex curved surfaces. In the future, it may expand its applications to complex scenarios such as flexible electronics, micro-robots, and high-resolution tissue models.