The formation of microstructures as a result of the self-focusing of light in a photopolymer nanocomposite

This paper presents the results of studies of the process of forming microstructures in UV-hardenable monomeric composites. The main effects that determine the parameters of the resulting structures are investigated: the self-focusing of light in a material with a positive sign of the refractive-index change during photopolymerization, shrinkage during photopolymerization, and the photoradical-diffusion rate. The conditions are determined for obtaining microstructures with a format ratio up to 1:50.