High Reliability Monolithic Exploding Foil Initiator with Improved Manufacturability

ABSTRACT: Exploding Foil Initiators (EFIs) are used extensively for electronic safe and arm and fuzing systems.EFIs contain no primary explosive; as such, their resistance to Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) initiation make them highly attractive for use in Insensitive Munition (IM) applications.Direct Header Deposition (DHD), developed at Sandia National Laboratory, utilizes common thin film deposition techniques to directly deposit the foil and flyer materials onto the device header, greatly reducing the probability of electrical connection failures common to soldered foil EFI headers. The monolithic design also reduces the susceptibility of the EFI to high shock loads.While the monolithic EFI shows promise, the design requires refinement to enhance manufacturability and optimize reliability in high shock environments.In this proposal, a hybrid DHD EFI is presented which incorporates a variety of potential bridge materials deposited using an inexpensive, reliable, low temperature deposition method capable of depositing inorganic and organic materials including metals, ceramics, and polymers. The use of reactive bridge materials deposited via GDCS could further enhance the reliability of EFIs by increasing the flyer velocity and increasing the amount of solid phase reaction products.; BENEFIT: Increased flyer velocity, improved manufacturability, improved reliability