Initiation and reaction tuning of nanoporous energetic silicon Original Research Article

Nanoporous silicon, well-known for its optical properties, has gained increasing attention in recent years as an energetic material. In this paper, we demonstrate the ability to tune the energy release rate as measured by propagation speed, ranging from a fast burn to speeds that exceed 2000m/s. We also demonstrate tuning the quantity of gas generated by a factor of 3 while keeping the total energy released close to constant. We present the performance characterization data for an improved thermal initiator that is integrated on the nanoporous energetic silicon. The optimization of the hotwire initiator allows ignition with less than 100 ma applied current. Finally, we show integration of the nanoporous energetic silicon on-chip with a MEMS acceleration switch fabricated using standard micromachining techniques.