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Virendra kumar*
1
, Shrihari Shinde
2
, H. Muthurajan
2
, SK Nema
1

1
Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pashan, Pune 411 021
2
National Centre for Nanoscience& Nanotechnology, University of Mumbai, Mumbai 400098
Abstract:
Electro explosive devices are widely used in both civil and military sectors. In the air-force
arena electro explosive devices are extensively used in precision-guided weapons which are
facing one shot/one kill requirements, like canopy surveillance system for pilot ejection, seat
ejection system of fighter aircraft, parachute release mechanism, air to air missiles, air to
surface missiles, cluster bomb systems, cable cutter for fast release mechanism of fighter
aircraft etc. Armament Research and Development Establishment has successfully developed
Semiconductor bridge (SCB) Detonator MK-I and Micro Electric Detonator MK-I , both of
which are in regular production. Semiconductor bridge (SCB) detonator/ igniters are widely
used as electro explosive device (EED) for the initiation of explosives and propellants in
advanced ammunitions due to its most excellent performance, low all-fire energy (requires
small quantities of electrical energy to function), fast function time (few micro sec), less
weight, small volume, low cost, immunity to EMI (Electro-magnetic interference), ESD
(Electrostatic discharge) and RF (Radio Frequency) hazards. In this paper we are presenting
the extensive electrical, optical and electron microscopy characterization of Semiconductor
bridge done at our laboratory. The stray voltage immunity as per military standard has been
tested for the Semiconductor bridge (SCB) Detonator developed by ARDE and the firing
voltage level of SCB for different capacitance of Capacitor Discharge Unit (CDU) developed
indigenously is discussed in the manuscript. The paper also briefly presents plan of
developing SCB based Slapper detonator for Electronic safety and arming for missiles.
Key words: Electro explosive devices, Semiconductor bridge igniter/ detonator.
For presentation in International Conference on Strategies for Indigenous development of
Civil & Fighter Aircrafts during 16-17 Sep 2014, at Hyderabad (India)
* All correspondences be mailed to dvkverma25@gmail.com , Mobile - + 91 9422513480
Semiconductor Bridge (SCB) based highly
reliable, safe and ultra-fast initiator for
fighter aircrafts and advanced armaments

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1. INTRODUCTION

The semiconductor bridge is an enabling technology which has not only changed the
performance capabilities of initiators but also impacted the overall architecture of ordnance
initiation systems. Semiconductor Bridge (SCB) is an advanced device which is used for
ignition [1] of high energy materials such as explosives, thermite & pyro compositions. It is
widely used in military and civilian fields because of its excellent properties. Advantages of
SCB technology are low ignition energy, fast functioning, small size & mass, process
consistency, readiness of incorporation into digital logical circuits. A typical SCB device
consists of H shaped thin poly-silicon layer on SiO
2
layer and two metal lands for electrical
contact lying over the outer legs of the H shaped film[2]. The H shaped polysilicon layer is
highly doped with phosphorus or boron impurities to achieve 1 bridge resistance [2] The
length of the bridge (e.g. 100 m) is determined by the spacing of the aluminum lands.
Typically the doped polysilicon layer is 2 m thick, and the bridge is 380 m wide. The H
lands provide a low ohmic contact to the underlying doped layer. Typically SCB chips are
fabricated on substrates such as silicon wafer or Silicon on Sapphire(SOS) film or Sapphire
wafer. But despite the low energy for ignition, the substrate provides a reliable heat sink for
excellent no-fire levels. The top view and cut sectional view of a typical SCB structure is
shown in figure 1.

Electrical wires such as gold or aluminum wire
having diameter in the range of 3 mil to 5 mil
ultrasonically bonded to the lands permit a current
pulse to flow from land to land through the bridge.
The current pulse through the SCB causes it to
burst into a bright plasma discharge that heats the
energetic powder pressed or slurry against it by a
convective heat transfer process that is both rapid
and efficient. Consequently, SCB devices operate
at very low energies and function very quickly as
compared to traditional bridge wire based
devises.

In view of this Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) has
developed SCB based detonators [4-5]. The photograph and Specifications of SCB detonator
Mk-I and Micro Electric Detonator developed by ARDE are shown below


Size : Dia 8.6mm, Height 10.0 mm
Shape : Cylindrical
No Fire Current : 1A/1W for 5 Min
All Fire Current DC : 1200mA
All Fire Current AC : 14A, 2 S Pulse
All Fire Energy : 3 5 mJ
Functioning Delay : < 60 S
SCB Detonator Mk-I
Figure 1. Top view & Cut Section View of SCB Chip
Specifications of SCB Detonator Mk-I
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2. CHARACTERIZATION OF SCB
In order to meet the advanced detonator supply demand in India, Armament Research and
Development Establishment (ARDE) has indigenously designed and developed a most
reliable & highly safe Semiconductor Bridge (SCB) detonator. The indigenously developed
SCB detonator has undergone environmental test as per Mil Std 331B and life assessment
trials have also been conducted as per ISAT B. Few of the characterization of SCB done at
our lab are described briefly in the subsequent paragraph.
2.1 Scanning Electron Microscopy
The Scanning Electron Microscope image of
dual chip SCB is obtained using FEI-Quanta250.
The figure 2 shows the SEM image of dual chip
SCB. These chips are independently connected to
the conducting wire for electrical connection. The
conducting wires are ultrasonically bonded to
aluminuam pad. Electrical signal is passed thourgh
these conducting wires to bridge for the
characterization of SCB. This dual chip SCB
assembly is mounted on ceramic header.In the
SEM image (figure 2), we are able to view the
epoxy which bind the SCB chip well with the
ceramic header.
2.2 Stray Voltage Immunity
Characterization and installation by manual handling of SCB is necessary, as human
produce stray voltage which may cause SCB to misfire, to validate the reliability of SCB
there is need to check the immunity of SCB to stray voltage produced by Human. As per
military standard Mil-DTL-23659F (June 2010) stray voltage immunity for igniters can be
Micro Electric Detonator (MED)
Figure 2. SEM of Dual Chip SCB
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tested in the laboratory by injecting 2000 pulses of 100mA constant current with 300ms of
ON pulse width and 200ms of OFF pulse width.
The SCB developed by ARDE has been tested for stray voltage test as per military
standard. After testing SCB it is experimentally observed that SCB is immune to stray
voltage signal. During the stray voltage immunity test, the voltage across the SCB igniter is
continuously monitored.
2.3 Testing of SCB using CDU
The SCB is tested with different capacitors to find optimum charging voltage and
corresponding energy required by SCB to function reliably. The capacitors used for the
experiments are 10F, 47F and 100F. The10F capacitor is charged for 28V using constant
voltage source KEITHLEY2440 and 28V charged capacitor is discharged through 0.01
current viewing resistor (CVR) and semiconductor bridge (SCB). The results of SCB firing
energy for different capacitors are tabulated in table 1. The discharging profiles are obtained
by connecting digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) across CVR and SCB.
Table 1. SCB firing Energy for different capacitors
Sr.
no
SCB
resistance
Capacitor Charging
Voltage
Energy stored in
Capacitor
Energy through SCB
1 1.08 10 F 28 V 3.92 mJ 1.5 mJ
2 1.07 47 F 16 V 6.016 mJ 2.23 mJ
3 1.08 100 F 14 V 16.2 mJ 3.29 mJ
2.4CDU characteristics of SCB
The current and voltage data shown in figure 3 is obtained by firing SCB using 10F
capacitor with 28V charging voltage. Current flowing through SCB is recorded by connecting
current viewing resistor in series with SCB and voltage is recorded across SCB directly. This
recorded current and voltage data is plotted versus time and shown in figure 3.






From figure 3 it is evident that instant rise in voltage and fall in current is at 0.9 s (900
nano seconds). This point corresponds to vaporization of Semiconductor Bridge and time at
Figure 3. Current & Voltage Vs Time
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which this occurs is denoted by burst time. For predicting the start of vaporization of SCB,
the burst time is defined as time of the beginning of the current drop.
The behavior of SCB is modeled on the assumption that resistance is the unique function
of energy delivered to SCB and given by.

(1)
Here, V is the voltage across SCB leads, I is current through the SCB, t is the time.
SCB resistance can be simply written using current and voltage graph as

(2)
This is the classic data for the characterization of SCB. When fully charged capacitor is
used to discharge through SCB the silicon material in SCB passes through various stages
Extrinsic Conduction, Intrinsic conduction, Melting of bridge & Vaporization

We observed from figure 3 that burst occurs at about 1.25 mJ and resistance at burst time
is 1.2 . We note that initial energy stored in capacitor is 3.92 mJ which is much more
than required to vaporize the bridge; hence we conclude that there is some energy loss.
The figure 4 shows resistance versus
time plot. From figure 9 it is clear that
there are 2 peaks in the value of
resistance. The first peak in SCB
resistance about 2.24 is observed at
about 5.04 s and second peak is
observed at 22.9 s having peak
resistance about 3.688 .
Hence the behavior of SCB resistance is somewhat complicated. To simplify the
characterization of SCB we have used Origin 8 data analysis software from Microcal
Software. Origin software has smoothened data for current, voltage, resistance and energy as
shown in figure 3, and 4. Here smoothening technique we have used is Adjacent-Averaging
having 10 point of window and no boundary condition.
3. SCB BASED SLAPPER DETONATORS
Slapper detonators have been used since the early 1980 as a safe and reliable method of
initiating insensitive explosive material in the first stage of an explosive chain. However, it
requires very high energy, high voltage to trigger the system and more space. In recent years
the desire to reduce the size, cost and mass of the Fire set has driven the investigation of
lower-energy slapper initiators which can reliably, safely and precisely operate at reduced
firing voltages. The semiconductor bridge (SCB) is an enabling technology which will
drastically reduce the high energy requirement and still maintain the safe & reliable ignition
of slapper detonator. ARDE is developing SCB based slapper detonators.
Figure 4. Resistance Vs Time Plot
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4. CONCLUSION
The scanning electron microscopy image shows the independent electrical connection of
conducting wire to aluminum pads for dual chip SCB mounted on Ceramic header. The
experimental observation shows that the SCB designed and developed by ARDE is immune
to stray voltage disturbances and it is reliable to use in stray voltage environment. The SCB
can be effectively fired using different capacitors. The experimental result shows that SCB
can be faithfully fired using 10F, 47F and 100F with charging voltage of 28V, 16V and
14V respectively. As capacitor discharges across SCB large amount of current will flow
through SCB and that is useful for quick triggering of SCB. The characterization details for
CDU show that energy require to fire SCB with charging voltage of 28V and charging
capacitor of 10F is ~1.25mJ. The time require to produce plasma from bridge is ~5.04s.
These experimental results prove that SCB is fast to operate and requires less energy to
function it effectively. The maximum resistance observed experimentally while firing SCB
using CDU is ~3.88.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors are highly grateful to Dr. KM Rajan, Director, Armament Research &
Development Establishment, Pashan, Pune for permission to publish this paper. Authors are
also grateful to Shri Kapil Deo, Associate Director for constant encouragement& guidance
during the course of this work.

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Modeling of Semiconductor Bridges UC-706 Sandia Report SAND97-8246 UC706
Unlimited Release Printed March 1997
4. Virendra Kumar, Semiconductor Bridge (SCB) detonator and its applications, 8th
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08 Dec 2012
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