Apparatus and method for removal of surface oxides via fluxless technique involving electron attachement and remote ion generation

摘要

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for the dry fluxing of at least one component (25) and/or solder surface via electron attachment. In one embodiment, there is provided a method for removing oxides from the surface of a component (25) comprising: providing a component (25) on a substrate (24) wherein the substrate (25) is grounded or has a positive electrical potential to form a target assembly; passing a gas mixture (26) comprising a reducing gas through an ion generator (21) comprising a first and a second electrode; supplying an amount of voltage to at least one of the first and second electrodes sufficient to generate electrons wherein the electrons attach to at least a portion of the reducing gas and form a negatively charged reducing gas; and contacting the target assembly (24) with the negatively charged reducing gas to reduce the oxides on the component (25).