A review of nano-reactive multilayered films and their applications in micro-energetic igniters

Nano-reactive multilayer films consisting of alternating layers of the nano-aluminum and nano-metal oxide is a new type of nano thermite. These multilayer films can be stimulated by an external energy to promptly release stored chemical energy in a sudden emission of light and heat, which has high energy releasing rate and energy transforming efficiency since the scale of the composite components for nanoscale and the reaction mechanism based on the interaction between molecules. This multilayer composite film can be prepared by Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) compatible technology with magnetron sputtering, and can be integrated with circuit chips to construct micro-nano energetic devices. In this paper, the influence of processing parameters on the structure and properties of nano-reactive multilayer films is analyzed systematically. And the application of reactive multilayer films in micro igniter is also introduced. In addition, the application prospect and development direction of nano-reactive multilayer films in micro-nano energetic devices are prospected.