@article{Liu2026, 
author = {Qiulan Liu and Jisen Wen and Liang Xu and Zhenyao Yang and Chun Cao and Shangting You and Gangyao Zhan and Yiwei Qiu and Wenjie Liu and Xiaobing Wang and Cuifang Kuang and Dazhao Zhu and Shih-Chi Chen and Xu Liu},
title = {3D nanoscale fabrication and imaging: a multimodal approach for in situ and super-resolution characterization},
year = {2026},
journal = {International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing},
volume = {8},
number = {2},
keywords = {super resolution, laser direct writing, microscopy, peripheral photoinhibition, in situ imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1088/2631-7990/ae289e},
doi = {10.1088/2631-7990/ae289e},
abstract = {The synergistic innovation of nanoscale optical fabrication and characterization technologies holds the key to overcoming three-dimensional (3D) precision manufacturing bottlenecks. This study reports the novel self-reporting functionality of 7-diethylamino-3-thenoylcoumarin (DETC) in photoresist, which serves as both a super-resolution photoinitiator and an intrinsic fluorophore with stimulated emission depletion (STED) behavior and polymerization-dependent lifetime characteristics. Through the development of an integrated system combining STED-inspired periphery photoinhibition (PPI) printing with dual-mode imaging, we achieve simultaneous in situ characterization and super-resolution quality verification. Specifically, PPI imaging demonstrates 50-nm lateral resolution for 40-nm printed lines and resolves 200-nm axial gaps when characterizing developed structures. Furthermore, in situ fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) achieves nanometer-level resolution, comparable to confocal microscopy, by utilizing DETC’s lifetime shift to characterize undeveloped structures. This synergy imaging approach resolves the trade-off between resolution and non-destructive detection, while establishing a new paradigm for closed-loop optimization of complex 3D nanodevices, with profound implications for nanophotonics, precision biosensing, and ultrahigh-density optical storage.}
}