Innovative Manufacturing Process Improvements

In the search for a suitable beryllium substitute material, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has identified several candidates for use in Ground Based Missile Defense (GMD) and Low Cost Kill Vehicle (LCKV) programs. One of the candidates that the MDA selected for further study is Single Crystal Silicon (SCSi). Because SCSi is a brittle material, a critical component for success in the substitution process involves attachment issues. Brittle materials are not like ductile materials that allow threading and mechanical attachment. However, with frit bonding, attachment of brittle materials is possible through the use of metal inserts. Bonding joints, referred to as metallurgical joints, show promise in replacing mechanical joints. In the case of brittle materials, the metallurgical joint can be distributed over a significant area thereby minimizing local stress concentrations. Although, we have several proven innovative bonding processes for attachment, these processes need further improvement and qualification with emphasis on rapid, low-cost, high-quality manufacturing, attachment performance, and process repeatability in order to move the processes to the next Readiness Level. The objective of this proposal is to define and determine the feasibility of using frit bonding and/or solder when attaching hardware to brittle materials.