Electronic substrate non-contact heating system and method

Abstract

Methods for the non-contact heating of an electronic substrate using inline heating elements in combination with an automatically controlled airflow. Air heated by the elements is communicated to one or more plenums, which discharge the heated air towards an impingement plate. The impingement plate includes a plurality of openings through which heated air from the plenum passes on its way to heat the electronic substrate. The automatic control of the airflow may be prompted by an operating condition, such as a sensed airflow and/or a transition into an equipment operating mode, e.g., a warm-up, standby, halt production and cool down state. Production may be automatically optimized by using a profile to conjunctively control both the heating of the air and the directing the flow of the heated air. Such a profile accounts for a combined affect of both heating the air and directing the flow of the heated air.

1 . A method of non-contact heating an electronic substrate, the method comprising:
 heating air;   communicating the heated air into a plenum having an inlet for receiving the heated air, the plenum having an opening for the discharge of the heated air;   communicating the heated air from the plenum through a plurality of openings in an impingement plate mounted over the opening of the plenum;   supporting the electronic substrate over the impingement plate; and   impinging the heated air upon a surface of the electronic substrate to heat the surface of the substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein heating the air further comprises:
 transferring the air through a heating element having an outlet coupled with the plenum. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising:
 automatically controlling a rate of flow of the air into an inlet of the heating element 
 
     
     
         4 . A method of non-contact heating an electronic substrate, comprising:
 directing a flow of heated air towards the electronic substrate, and   in response to a determined operating condition, automatically adjusting the flow of the heated air.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining the operating condition from a signal indicative of the determined operating condition, wherein the determined operating condition includes an airflow measurement.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining the determined operating condition from a signal indicative of the determined operating condition, wherein the determined operating condition includes an equipment operating mode.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 determining the determined operating condition from a signal indicative of at least one of a group of equipment operating modes consisting of: a warm-up state, a cool down state, a standby state coincident with waiting for a product, and a halt production state coincident with pausing production.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining the determined operating condition from a signal indicative of said determined operating condition, wherein said operating condition includes a temperature measurement.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein automatically adjusting the flow of the heated air further comprises:
 using a profile to conjunctively control both heating the air and directing the flow of the heated air, wherein the profile accounts for a combined affect of both heating the air and directing the flow of the heated air.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 conducting an underfill operation involving said electronic substrate.