Energetic materials for microsystem applications

Traditionally, the choice of molecules or constituents for an energetic material has been guided by generic thermodynamic and thermochemical calculations aimed at optimizing heat of reaction and adiabatic temperature of reaction. This methodology has proved effective for traditional energetic materials (monomolecular and composite), and for macroscopic applications.

Considering microsystem integration here, the energetic material can no longer be considered in isolation: it exchanges a significant proportion of its reaction energy with its physical environment. For example, very good energetic materials, such as HMX, no longer burn in a steel tube just a few mm in diameter at atmospheric pressure.

Thus, precautions must be taken to design a new energetic material capable of maintaining energetic performance in thin films, or in submillimeter...