Mechatronic curtain for a process chamber for carrying out thermal processes in the manufacture of electronic assemblies

An electronic assembly process chamber for the manufacture of an electronic assembly comprising:

• a process chamber having an opening configured to receive an electronic assembly;
• a plurality of individually controllable segments placed adjacent the opening of said process chamber along a length dimension of the opening, each of said plurality of individually controllable segments having a dimension configured to partially travers the opening of said process chamber;
• a detector, said detector positioned to detect a topography of an electronic assembly;
• an actuator coupled to each of said plurality of individually controllable segments, said actuator configured to individually control movement of each of said plurality of individually controllable segments whereby each of said plurality of individually controllable segments selectively partially traverses the opening;
• and
• a controller coupled to said detector and said actuator, said controller configured to receive data representative of the topography of the electronic assembly from said detector and configured to control movement of each of said plurality of individually controllable segments to selectively partially travers the opening and to come to within a selected distance of the electronic assembly based on the data representative of the topography of the electronic assembly,
• whereby the opening is reduced based on the topography of the electronic assembly reducing escape of a protective gas within said process chamber.

A process chamber for carrying out thermal processes in a manufacture of an electronic assembly having components with different dimensions forming an assembly topography comprising:

• an opening, said opening having an area permitting the electronic assembly to pass through said opening;
• a protective gas supply coupled to the process chamber;
• controllable segments arranged along a dimension of said opening, said controllable segments having a distal end configured to independently move into the opening a predetermined distance wherein each of said controllable segments extend along a portion of the dimension;
• and
• a controller coupled to said controllable segments, wherein said controller controls the predetermined distance each of said controllable segments move into the opening along the dimension of said opening to maintain a defined distance between the components forming the assembly topography and the distal end of said controllable segments,
• whereby the area of said opening is reduced based on the assembly topography of the electronic assembly reducing escape of a protective gas within said process chamber.