Hybrid additive-subtractive laser fabrication platform for shaping hydrogels

A system for forming a structure from a hydrogel, comprising:

• a stage having a sample holder for holding a hydrogel prepolymer solution and a window formed through the sample holder;
• a femtosecond laser source capable of emitting a plurality of laser pulses having a first predetermined wavelength;
• a second harmonic generator aligned with the femtosecond laser source to generate a second predetermined wavelength for a first portion of the plurality of the laser pulses;
• a digital micro-mirror device aligned with the second harmonic generator and the window of the stage to spatially modulate ultraviolet wavelength pulses according to a first predetermined pattern so that the hydrogel prepolymer solution is cross-linked into a layer of a hydrogel polymer according to the first predetermined pattern;
• and
• an objective lens aligned with the femtosecond laser source and the window of the stage to allow a second portion of the laser pulses having the first predetermined wavelength to ablate a plurality of voids in the layer of the hydrogel polymer.