Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[Watts Watt]

2002 Executive Summary of Research into arming sliders. It is the springiness attribute of liquidmetal which is especially applicable to this device, and the non-corrosiveness for long term storage.

A MEMS-based fuze S&A for a gun-launched
20-mm airburst grenade has been developed and partially demonstrated in the laboratory and in
20-mm and 40-mm gun firings. A compatible micro-scale firetrain has been demonstrated in
the laboratory. The ballistic tests successfully
demonstrated inertially-driven mechanical safety logic implemented on a micro-fabricated die
measuring 10x10-mm. Two high-aspect-ratio MEMS fabrication technologies were tried in this
proof-of-principle effort, with test results favoring the metal fabrication possible with LIGA, a
microscale molding and electroplating technique, over the silicon fabrication DRIE process. Aspects
of the development that remain to be demonstrated include a MEMS-based command actuator, full-up
explosive round, and low-cost replication techniques that will make the
fuze application affordable.