22nd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Harrogate, UK, 28 August - 1st September, 2000
Paper ICAS 2000-5.4.3

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND MECHANICAL ISSUES RELATING TO THE USE OF MICRO ENGINEERED DEVICES IN FUTURE GUIDED WEAPONS

I. M. Sturland
BAE SYSTEMS, Bristol, UK

Keywords: micro-engineering, mems, mst, silicon, acelerometers, gyroscopes

The use of Micro-Engineered devices has been cited as a route to smaller, lighter, higher performance sub-systems for future guided weapons. This paper reviews the reasons for silicon Micro-Engineered structures being eminently suited to these applications. Materials properties and fabrication techniques are described which allow the manufacture of devices for the particular environmental and performance requirements of guided weapons. A particular development has been the manufacture of devices using bulk single crystal silicon and the Advanced Silicon Etch (ASE) or Deep Silicon Reactive Ion Etch (D-RIE) process. This allows great design flexibility (almost complete freedom in x and y), high accuracy (limited by the lithography), and unlike older technologies the fabricator can deliver what the designer asked for! These features are compared to microengineered devices that are in commercial production and the differences discussed in both engineering and commercial terms. In particular some of the design features used to achieve high sensitivity, straightforward fabrication and a high degree of mechanical ruggedness are compared. The design and fabrication technology is now largely mature and in place. We now need to see more devices taken from the laboratory demonstrator or proof of principle status to full evaluation in a realistic environment.

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