Ludovic Salvagnac

Multilayered Al/CuO thermite formation by reactive magnetron sputtering: Nano versus micro

Multilayered Al/CuO thermite was deposited by a dc reactive magnetron sputtering method. Pure Al and Cu targets were used in argon–oxygen gas mixture plasma and with an oxygen partial pressure of 0.13 Pa. The process was designed to produce low stress (<50 MPa) multilayered nanoenergetic material, each layer being in the range of tens nanometer to one micron. The reaction temperature and heat of reaction were measured using differential scanning calorimetry and thermal analysis to compare nanostructured layered materials to microstructured materials. For the nanostructured multilayers, all the energy is released before the Al melting point. In the case of the microstructured samples at least 2/3 of the energy is released at higher temperatures, between 1036 and 1356 K.

Surface micromachining technology with two SU-8 structural layers and sol–gel, SU-8 or SiO2/sol–gel sacrificial layers

The development reported herein is that of a surface micromachining technology using two SU-8 layers as a structural material. Three different processes are presented and discussed: the first process makes use of a sol–gel as the sacrificial layer; the second process utilizes the SU-8 itself as the sacrificial layer; the third process utilizes silicon dioxide as the first sacrificial layer and the sol–gel as the second sacrificial layer. These three processes are adapted for one structural layer structure. With a two-layer structure and when release is long, the third process is more adapted.