Ceramic stereolithography and related additive manufacturing methods involving photopolymerization of ceramic powder suspensions are reviewed in terms of the capabilities of current devices. The practical fundamentals of the cure depth, cure width, and cure profile are related to the optical properties of the monomer, ceramic, and photo-active components. Postpolymerization steps, including harvesting and cleaning the objects, binder burnout, and sintering, are discussed and compared with conventional methods. The prospects for practical manufacturing are discussed.

A Beer’s law expression for the penetration depth of ultraviolet radiation in a concentrated suspension of scattering particles is used to model the depth of cure for a suspension of ceramic particles in a medium of photocurable monomers. The cure depth is predominantly controlled by the square of the refractive index difference between the ceramic particles and the medium, Δn2=(np−n0)2. A secondary effect on the cure depth is the ratio of the interparticle spacing to the ultraviolet wavelength. Theoretical results agree with experimental data for 0.40–0.50 volume fraction ceramic-filled suspensions.