Novel High-G 3-axis Accelerometer for Fuzing Applications

The U.S. Department of Defense has identified a need for the development of a low-cost tri-axis accelerometer.  Fuzing applications require the sensing and validation of unique launch environments in order to provide safety prior to arming a munition and these munitions must survive harsh military environments and reliably function during and after high-G acceleration events associated with munition launch. High-G accelerometers have been built.  However, current commercially available accelerometers can survive up to only moderate G-loads, do not meet the temperature requirements, are expensive and have a large footprint. International FemtoScience Inc. proposes a tri-axis high-G accelerometer design based on accelerometer flexures fabricated from inexpensive chemical vapor deposited diamond.  Diamond-based technology can achieve measurements down to the micro-g range, operate to tens of thousands of G’s and survive shock into the 100KG+ range due to diamond’s elasticity and toughness, with reduced error due environmental factors such as temperature, radiation, and shock. A design and feasibility study will be performed in Phase I detailing the proposed diamond flexure-based accelerometer technology.  It will fully describe the proposed techniques and characterization methodologies, including a list of fabrication tools, facility requirements, and a program plan for a follow-on Phase II development.