Tsinghua University, one of China’s foremost research institutions, has published research in Nature detailing a holographic 3D printing system capable of fabricating complex millimetre-scale objects in just 0.6 seconds, a feat the team claims is the fastest volumetric printing speed reported to date. The work, led by Dai Qionghai, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, introduces a method called digital incoherent synthesis of holographic light fields (DISH) that bypasses the layer-by-layer scanning approach common to most additive manufacturing processes.
Rather than building structures point by point, DISH projects a complete three-dimensional light intensity distribution into a stationary resin volume, solidifying the entire object at once. The result is a reported volumetric printing rate of 333 cubic millimetres per second, with a minimum feature size of 12 micrometres.
How Holographic 3D Printing Works
Holographic 3D printing uses computed multi-angle light fields to solidify an entire 3D structure simultaneously. In the DISH system, a high-speed rotating periscope revolves up to 10 times per second around a stationary resin container, projecting patterned laser light from multiple angles through a single flat optical surface. This eliminates the need to rotate the resin, a requirement in conventional volumetric methods such as computed axial lithography (CAL), removing a significant source of mechanical instability.
A digital micromirror device (DMD), a chip containing thousands of individually controllable micro-mirrors, shapes the laser light at up to 17,000 pattern switches per second, synchronising each projection with the periscope’s angular position. Earlier volumetric systems relied on simplified optical models that struggled to maintain sharpness across larger print volumes. The Tsinghua team replaced this with an advanced wave-optics model that accounts for how light bends and spreads as it passes from air into resin, enabling fine detail to hold across a far larger working depth.
To further refine accuracy, the researchers developed a holographic optimisation algorithm that computes light-dose distributions from 180 different angles and converts them into 1,800 rapid-fire projections, minimising motion blur while preserving tonal precision.
Performance Metrics and Material Compatibility
DISH achieved a uniform 19-micrometre printing resolution across a one-centimetre depth range. To put that in perspective, the optics used in the system would normally only maintain sharp focus across 0.4 mm, meaning DISH holds fine detail across a volume more than twenty times larger than standard optics would typically allow. X-ray computed tomography confirmed that printed parts closely matched their digital models.
Because fabrication is completed in fractions of a second, the technology is compatible with thin, free-flowing resins that existing volumetric systems cannot use. Conventional methods require thick, paste-like materials, typically between 6,000 and 10,000 centipoise (cP), to prevent structures from sinking during prolonged exposure times. DISH, by contrast, works with materials as fluid as water, including aqueous polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) solutions at just 4.7 cP. The team also validated a range of acrylate-based and hydrogel materials, including gelatin methacrylate and silk methacrylate, resins with direct relevance to bioprinting applications.
Applications, Limitations, and Industry Outlook
The research team identified several potential application areas for holographic 3D printing at this speed and scale, including photonic computing devices, smartphone camera modules, micro-robotics, flexible electronics, and high-resolution biological tissue models. By integrating DISH with a fluidic channel and pump system, the researchers demonstrated successive production of distinct geometries without mould changes, a step towards continuous mass manufacturing of miniature components.
“We achieved mass production of complex and diverse 3D structures within low-viscosity materials, demonstrating its potential for broad applications in diverse fields.”
— Dai Qionghai et al., Nature
However, the technology carries notable limitations. Computational preprocessing for a 7.3 × 7.3 × 10 mm dataset required approximately 24 hours on a CPU, far exceeding the sub-second fabrication time. The team has proposed GPU acceleration and neural network-based hologram generation to reduce this overhead. Single-side illumination also means the system projects light from a limited range of angles, which slightly reduces vertical sharpness compared to horizontal detail, a trade-off the authors note could be addressed with alternative projection geometries.
Broader Implications for Volumetric Additive Manufacturing
As a proof of concept, the DISH system demonstrates that sub-second holographic 3D printing at high resolution is achievable, simultaneously improving both throughput and feature fidelity, metrics that have historically traded off against one another in volumetric additive manufacturing. Whether the technology can transition from laboratory to commercial production will depend on reducing the computational overhead and validating performance across a broader range of industrial materials. For now, the research positions computational optics as an increasingly viable pathway for next-generation additive manufacturing.
About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Global News page for more updates on Global 3D Printing News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Follow us on Google News.
