A jet cutter apparatus and method for using a single bridge wire or a plurality of bridge wires to uniformly detonate a booster and thereby cause a uniform detonation of the explosives adjacent to the liners, thereby causing a uniform compression of the liners to form a uniform plasma jet that is substantially radially perpendicular to the jet cutter.

A jet cutter apparatus and method for using a single bridge wire or a plurality of bridge wires to uniformly detonate a booster and thereby cause a uniform detonation of the explosives adjacent to the liners, thereby causing a uniform compression of the liners to form a uniform plasma jet that is substantially radially perpendicular to the jet cutter.

A capacitive discharge unit (CDU) for detonating an explosive in response to a control signal comprises a set of CDU components, including an exploding foil initiator (EFI), a trigger circuit, a firing capacitor, and an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) firing switch. In various embodiments the components are arranged on a board for mechanically and electrically supporting the components in an ordered arrangement along a CDU axis where the CDU having an axial length defined by the ordered arrangement of two or more of the EFI, the firing capacitor, and the IBGT firing switch, wherein the trigger circuit is offset from the CDU axis such that the trigger circuit does not contribute to the axial length.

In an aspect of the invention there is provided an integrated circuit initiator device that comprises a circuit substrate provided with an electrical insulating layer; an electrical conducting bridge circuit deposited on the insulating layer; said bridge circuit patterned as contact areas and a bridge structure connecting the contact areas, said bridge structure arranged for forming a plasma when the bridge structure is fused by a initiator circuit that contacts the contact areas; and a polymer layer that is spin-coated on the bridge structure, for forming a flyer that is propelled away from the substrate.

An ignitor for an electronic detonator, the ignitor including a microcontroller and a capacitor mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) and electrically connected to one another, the microcontroller configured to discharge the capacitor in response to an actuation signal received by the microcontroller, a pair of conductive traces extending from the capacitor, a resistive element extending between the conductive traces and configured to radiate heat in response to current flowing therethrough, and a shroud disposed over the resistive element, the shroud containing a pyrotechnic composition that at least partially covers the resistive element.

An initiator assembly that includes an exploding foil initiator, an input charge and a detonation detection switch. The exploding foil initiator has a base, a pair of bridge lands, a bridge element, and a plurality of non-metallic material layers. The bridge lands are coupled to the base. The bridge element is disposed between the bridge lands. The non-metallic material layers form a flyer layer and a barrel. The flyer layer is disposed over the bridge element. The barrel defines a barrel aperture and is disposed over the flyer layer such that the barrel aperture is disposed in-line with the bridge element. The input charge is formed of a secondary explosive, the input charge being disposed in-line with the barrel aperture. The detonation detection switch is mounted to the exploding foil initiator within an area defined by an outer perimeter of the base.

An initiator assembly that includes a header body, a frame member, a plurality of terminals, an initiator chip, a plurality of contacts, and a support member. The frame member is coupled to the header body and defines an interior aperture. The terminals are received through the header body and the frame member. The initiator chip is received in the frame member and has a plurality of lands, a conductive bridge and a flyer that is disposed over the conductive bridge. Each of the contacts is soldered to an associated one of the terminals and an associated one of the lands. The support member is formed of plastic and encapsulates the frame member, the plurality of contacts, and a portion of the initiator chip. The support member forms a barrel aperture over the flyer. The input charge is formed of a secondary explosive and is disposed in-line with the barrel aperture.

A micro-electro-pyrotechnic energy-harvesting apparatus to harvest an incidental portion of a propellant energy utilized when a munition is fired freeing a magnet to strike an impact pin that strains a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element generates a collected voltage, which triggers a pyrotechnic initiator that, on activation, produces a straining force on a plurality of stacks of piezoelectric elements. The strained piezoelectric elements, in turn, generate a high voltage output sufficient to ignite the munition's explosive material. The apparatus may be quite small, for example, the cross-sectional size of a pen, which is about one centimeter, yet suitable for generating an electrical ignition of the explosive material.

The invention relates to a method for producing electric trigger elements for pyrotechnic articles such as fuses or igniters, wherein, in a first stage, a) a lacquer is applied by photolithography to an electrically non-conductive substrate, b) a conductive material having a specific resistance of 0.1 *mm to 5.0 *mm is applied to the lacquer and substrate by means of a PVD process in a layer thickness of 0.02 m to 8.0 m, and c) the lacquer is removed from the substrate, and possibly, in a second stage, d) a photolithographic process is again carried out in which a precisely defined region of the resistor strip is covered with photoresist, e) the entire substrate surface is covered with a layer of a metal having a specific resistance of 0.01 *mm to 0.1 *mm in a thickness of 0.1 m to 20 m, wherein the application of the metal is configured such that in regions which have a bare substrate from the first photolithographic process, no metal adheres, and f) the lacquer from the second photolithographic process is again removed.

The present invention relates to an electric detonator (1) comprising a cap (2), comprising a priming charge (3) and an electrode (4), comprising a positive pole, a negative pole and a resistor element (8), the said priming charge (3) comprising at least two primary explosives, a first primary explosive (9) and a second primary explosive (10), and at least one secondary explosive (11). The electric detonator is characterized in that the two primary explosives (9, 10) and the secondary explosive (11) are arranged in layers, in an increasing degree of sensitivity, bearing one against the other, wherein the first primary explosive (9), constituting the most sensitive of the two primary explosives (9, 10), is arranged closest to the resistor element (8), and in that the second primary explosive (10) is arranged thereafter between the first primary explosive (10) and the secondary explosive (11). The invention also relates to a production method for the said electric detonator (1).