Design of fuze MEMS electrostatic detection array

The motion of a target in air will produce electrostatic fields which can be detected by a fuze to provide some useful information of the target. Moreover, MEMS devices have shown their characteristics of small sizes, low power consumption and high integration to be suitable for design of MEMS electrostatic detection arrays. When a MEMS electrostatic detection array is placed in the limited space of a fuze, the array can acquire the information of position and velocity of the target by detecting electric field around it. A MEMS electrostatic field detection array with a vibrating film is designed using surface machining processes in this paper. The principle and fabrication of the electric field detection array are systematically presented and the processing techniques of a electrostatic field sensor are explained particularly. The principle and formula of target locating are also studied. The results show that the electrostatic field of the target can be detected by using three MEMS electrostatic detectors, and the positions of the point target along the axis of the projectile and vertical to the axis of the projectile can be obtained. It is concluded that the MEMS electrostatic detection array can locate exactly the target.